Introduction
College athletic departments are often seen as the most profitable part of a university’s budget. Say’s Jared Kamrass, however, this is not always true. In reality, collegiate athletics can be a financial liability for universities. As stated by Enrico D’Amato in his article “The Role of College Athletic Departments in University Finances,” published on the website for the Department of Economics at Boston College:
The biggest financial burden of collegiate athletic departments is the expenses of the programs.
The biggest financial burden of collegiate athletic departments is the expenses of the programs. Athletic departments are heavily reliant on student fees and taxpayer subsidies, which account for approximately half of their revenue. In addition, many universities also receive funding from athletic events such as bowl games or conference championships.
These revenues help offset some costs associated with running an athletic program and paying coaches’ salaries, but they do not cover all expenses. For example, if a football team goes 8-4 instead of 11-1 and misses out on postseason play altogether (which happens more often than you might think), there will still be significant costs involved with recruiting players and staff members as well as maintaining facilities like stadiums or arenas where games were played during regular seasons–and these costs do not disappear just because there won’t be any more games played until next year’s season begins!
A vast majority of collegiate athletic department’s budgets are spent on salary and benefits for employees.
The biggest financial burden of collegiate athletic departments is the expenses of the programs. The vast majority of collegiate athletic department’s budgets are spent on salary and benefits for employees. Expenditures for salaries and benefits have increased significantly over the last five years, especially for head coaches.
Expenditures for salaries and benefits have increased significantly over the last five years, especially for head coaches.
As college athletics have become more competitive and lucrative, the salaries of head coaches have increased significantly. The average salary for a head football coach at a Division I school is $2.3 million; for basketball coaches it’s $1.9 million and for baseball coaches it’s $700,000.
This has led many universities to increase their athletic budgets. In fact, the average Division I athletic department budget increased by $17 million from 2009 to 2014. And athletics are not the only cause of increasing costs. Over the last five years, academic programs have seen an increase in tuition and fees as well; at UC Berkeley these costs have increased by almost 20%. This has led many universities to increase their athletic budgets. In fact, the average Division I athletic department budget increased by $17 million from 2009 to 2014. And athletics are not the only cause of increasing costs. Over the last five years, academic programs have seen an increase in tuition and fees as well; at UC Berkeley these costs have increased by almost 20%. This has led many universities to increase their athletic budgets. In fact, the average Division I athletic department budget increased by $17 million from 2009 to 2014. And athletics are not the only cause of increasing costs. Over the last five years, academic programs have seen an increase in tuition and fees as well; at UC Berkeley these costs have increased by almost 20%.
Conclusion
The size and scope of collegiate athletic departments has grown over the last decade, but their financial viability is still uncertain. While revenues have increased for most schools, expenses have also risen significantly in many cases. This trend shows no signs of slowing down as salaries continue to increase and more money is spent on facilities maintenance than ever before.
