- MENU
- HOME
- SEARCH
- WORLD
- MAIN
- AFRICA
- ASIA
- BALKANS
- EUROPE
- LATIN AMERICA
- MIDDLE EAST
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Benelux
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Russia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- USA
- BUSINESS
- WEALTH
- STOCKS
- TECH
- HEALTH
- LIFESTYLE
- ENTERTAINMENT
- SPORTS
- RSS
- iHaveNet.com
Jeff Greer
As the economic climate continues to cause universities to reassess their operating budgets, the current costs of maintaining a college athletics program--especially at the highest levels of competition--is beginning to look unsustainable, according to a report released Monday.
A study conducted by the
"Athletics are increasingly seen as occupying a position of privilege, which the recession has brought to a harsher spotlight," says Knight Commission Cochairman R. Gerald Turner, who is also the president of
Presidents told the researchers conducting the survey that they would like to see reform in sports practices, but they don't see themselves as empowered to enact the changes needed. Sweeping changes would require a collective effort among university presidents--something that sounds a lot easier than it actually is--because presidents don't believe their individual actions can affect many others.
So, who could do something about the rising costs of keeping up a winning college sports program? According to the survey, the university presidents don't believe the
The respondents mentioned one catalyst that might make a difference: the
"There's no consensus on solutions for reforms in college athletics," Turner says. "Presidents believe they have limited power. There's little confidence that conferences or the
Some issues that the commission agrees need to be reviewed are coaches' salaries, the size of coaching staffs, and the number of games played by nonrevenue-producing sports. The study says that coaches' salaries were identified by 56 percent of university presidents as an area in which their own authority had been eroded by private moneys to compensate coaches. Two thirds of the presidents surveyed agreed that priority should be given to studying policy changes that would reduce the number of sports-specific personnel who aren't coaches or academic support and also cut the number of coaches for revenue-producing sports. More than 60 percent of respondents additionally said priority should be given to studying policy changes that would limit the number of games played by nonrevenue-producing teams.
Two prime examples of big coaching salaries:
Big salaries like Calipari's and Carroll's force other schools to open their wallets to hire or extend the hottest coaching commodities in sports. It's a situation comparable to the housing market boom--and it's possibly susceptible to a similar kind of collapse.
Knight Commission Cochairman William Kirwan, who is the chancellor of the University System of Maryland, says that reducing coaches' compensation might make the biggest impact on the financial strains of maintaining an athletics program. He was surprised at the consensus between university presidents and athletics directors on the issue but acknowledged that it's also a sticky issue to approach.
Still, some argue that if there's a time to enact changes in salaries, institutional costs, and other budgetary weights pressuring universities, it's now. Kirwan says the environment for reform is perfect.
"I do think the fiscal circumstances that our nation and our states find themselves in will provide momentum for this change," Kirwan says. "The difficult times that our universities are experiencing won't go away in the short run."
The problem, according to participants in the study, is that no solution seems readily apparent, and there's also no timetable for finding one.
"Everyone wants the solution to be right at hand," Turner says. "
WORLD | AFRICA | ASIA | EUROPE | LATIN AMERICA | MIDDLE EAST | UNITED STATES | ECONOMICS | EDUCATION | ENVIRONMENT | FOREIGN POLICY | POLITICS
Report Says Current Costs Make College Sports 'Unsustainable'