International I Hate Sports Club

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http://news.change.org/stories/big-budg ... -education

NEWS

Big-Budget College Sports Cost $, Hurt Higher Education

by Marc Dadigan . October 27, 2010
Topics: Higher Education . School Administration



As the University of Oregon's football team battles it out for the No. 1 BCS ranking this season, Duck fans seem far too eager to forget about what happened last year.

After the Ducks made their first Rose Bowl since 1995, several players, including star quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and star running back Lamichael James, were arrested in the off-season. Athletic Director Mike Bellotti, likely sensing trouble, fled his position to become an ESPN analyst, but not before collecting a super shady $2.3 million severance package that was arranged only three days before he resigned.

But now in the midst of Oregon's latest run, all of the off-season skullduggery is seemingly forgotten even though little has changed except the quarterback (Lamichael James is still on the team). Duck fans, like those at most universities, would rather bask in victory than face an undeniable truth: big-time college sports are bad for higher education, and, in turn, bad for American society.

Here are the myths supporters offer in defense of big-time college sports.

1. They bring in huge revenues that are used for academics.

2. They increase interest and prestige and drive up applications to the schools.

3. They increase contributions from wealthy donors.

But many studies have found that success in athletics has statistically insignificant effects on donations, and this one found a negative effect on donations from non-athlete alumni.

While it's true that going to a big bowl game or the Final Four can increase applications to a school, the so-called Flutie Effect has been found to be small and fleeting. And, honestly, what does it say about the academic integrity of a student whose primary reason for applying to a school is the football team?

The last, and perhaps most destructive, myth is that big-time college sports make money. Quite the opposite. According to a recent NCAA report, only 14 programs from the Football Championship Division were in the black for 2009 (the University of Oregon lost more than $600,000 despite its success).

How do athletic departments cover these deficits? Largely through student fees and diverting money from academic programs. In 2007-8, FBS athletic departments on average received subsidies between $8 million and $10 million.

All of this comes at a time when universities, largely driven by the delusional myths mentioned above. are spending lavishly on sports while academic spending stagnates. A recent report by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics found that between 2005 -2008 average spending on athletics grew 38 percent while it increased only 20 percent for academics. In the last 10 years, UO's budget increased 250 percent to $75 million, while academically it has struggled through financially hard times.

Stories by the USA Today and Washington Post reveal that many students, especially in Virginia, are paying huge sports fees to cover these budget deficits. Some of these schools go to great lengths to hide this information from their students.

Why should we continue to invest millions into big-time college sports programs that provide nothing to the academic environment of our universities? Aside from money, what messages do big-time college sports send to students? What does it say when the most well known representatives of the universities are athletes, many of whom might coast in watered-down jocks-only curriculums or would never have otherwise qualified for entrance?

It leads to an emphasis on winning, and only winning, which, in turn, lead to off-seasons like Oregon's that hurt the image of the university. It de-legitimizes academia and undermines the atmosphere of intellectual exploration that campuses should exude. In its place, college sports fill it with not-so-cheap entertainment and what Sperber calls "Beer and Circus."

We should all know how much universities truly spend and lose on big time college sports. We should also know when athletic department budgets are being covered by students and taxpayers, and how much universities are taking away from academics to support their bloated sports programs.

Urge NCAA president Mark Emmert to make athletic department budgets more transparent and honest by signing this petition on Change.org.

Photo credit: Bobak Ha

Marc Dadigan is a freelance multimedia reporter living with the Winnemem Wintu in Northern California.
Read more at http://www.marcdadigan.com.