'Sports teams at Oregon State and Portland State universities didn't pay for themselves last year, requiring more than $7 million in subsidies from money that the colleges could have spent on academics, a new state report shows.

The State Board of Higher Education will take up the report today at its monthly meeting at PSU. Several state board members have raised questions in the past about how long university leaders intend to subsidize athletics at the same time campuses are making cuts in core academic areas and tuition continues to climb.

Universities with Division I football programs generally expect their athletic departments to become self-sufficient through ticket sales, donations and other sources.

Athletics at PSU received $3.1 million in university subsidies last year, down from $3.4 million in 2003-04. At OSU, athletics received $4 million, up from $3.9 million the year before.

By contrast, University of Oregon athletics reported receiving no financial assistance "in any form" from the university last year. In past years, the university subsidized tuition for student athletes from out of state. UO athletics now pay all tuition for full-time scholarship athletes and a portion for partial scholarship athletes.

However, athletics at all three campuses rely on student fees. The fees come out of a mandatory "incidental fee" that supports campus activities, including clubs and student publications. Student leaders recommend the amount and use of the fees. At PSU, a full-time student pays $411 in incidental fees each year; at OSU, $540; at UO, $573.

UO athletics received $1.4 million in student fees last year, OSU athletics received $1.5 million, and PSU athletics received $2.3 million.

At PSU, university support and student fees made up 70 percent of athletics revenue last year.

"I feel that student fees cover a lot of the cost of athletics and that some reform needs to be made," said Erin Devaney, 22, a senior who is PSU student body president.

"I think there's a lot of wonder by a lot of students who pay one-third worth of their student fees to athletics and don't see how it's benefiting the campus and is actually sucking money from the campus."



In their dependence on university support, PSU and OSU aren't alone. Most athletic departments at Division I universities spend more than they earn, according to a 2005 NCAA report.

In Division I-A, to which OSU and UO belong, 60 percent of universities reported expenses exceeding revenues, after subtracting university support. In Division I-AA, which includes PSU football, 90 percent reported the same.

PSU President Dan Bernstine said it is unrealistic to expect athletics to support itself outside of a handful of big-name programs. Few other areas of the university, such as academic departments, are expected to pay for themselves, Bernstine said.

"I think the subsidy for athletics is not unreasonable, but of course, we're working to make that subsidy as little as possible," he said.

The better question, he said, is whether athletics is worth paying for at PSU. Bernstine's answer is yes, particularly as PSU seeks to attract more residential students, including international and out-of-state students who pay higher tuition than Oregon residents.

"There's pressure to enhance the quality of the student experience, and athletics is an important co-curricular activity," he said.





…At OSU, officials this year expect to pump another $4 million in university support into athletics. That subsidy should drop to $2.5 million in 2006-07, said Mark McCambridge, vice president for finance and administration. That expectation is based on projections of higher ticket sales at the newly renovated and expanded Reser Stadium, he said.

The $1.5 million not spent on athletics will go "directly into the classroom," McCambridge said. The university projects $8 million to $10 million in cuts in various university departments in 2006-07 that are driven by rising costs for health insurance, retirement benefits and salaries.

"The long-term goal of (OSU President Edward Ray) and the institution is, we would like to have it be a zero subsidy. Whether we can get there or not is unclear. It's certainly not going to happen in the next two years," McCambridge said.'