The problem some have with all of the money coming in through Oregon athletics is every dime of it is spent on athletics.
“They have $98 million in revenue and, strangely, exactly $98 million in expenses,” [a former University of Oregon business school dean] explained. “If you look back year after year, you will find that revenue and expenses match up almost to a penny. … When they get extra TV revenue, they do what they just did in February. They go to the president and the Board of Trustees and the coaches and the athletic director get raises, so expenses go up.”
There is something to be said for a football program that is capable of being self-sufficient in its operations, and it is far better than operating in the red on an annual basis. But how much should Oregon’s athletics department be contributing to the academic side of things? There may be no perfect answer to this question.
July 1st, 2015 at 12:57PM
Ah, U Of Oregon, otherwise known as U of Owe. Former flagship pres, Richard Lariviere, decided the way to make his institution immune to falling state support was to have the legislature issue nearly $1 billion is general obligation bonds, somehow thinking that being on the hook to Wall Street was going to allow the U of Owe some measure of autonomy.
Meanwhile, Nike boss Phil Knight, was lavishing however much on the athletic department, to the tune of over $70 million for a dedicated football facility, encrusted with video games, private hot tubs for AD functionaries, and gourmet buffets. As the AD is making more money than they knew what to do with, academics has to borrow huge money just to stay in business. And even with all of Nike largess, U of Owe is demanding that students pay more mandatory fees for game tickets, even though the majority of students want nothing to do with increased fees. No wonder admissions is falling….
July 1st, 2015 at 1:20PM
Sorry, forgot the link….
http://www.popecenter.org/commentaries/article.html?id=2443