June 21, 2010. Knight Commission Report calls for major reform in athletic policies, “Despite budget cuts in other areas, athletic spending at FIU, FAU and most other public universities has grown steadily in recent years.”
Big spending on sports programs is not just an issue concerning students at Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University — it’s a nationwide phenomenon, according to a new report.
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, a group that advocates for financial responsibility for college sports programs, is calling for major reforms.
In the just-released report, the group found that median athletic spending among the schools eligible to compete in football bowl games grew nearly 38 percent from 2005 to 2008. Meanwhile, academic spending increased only 20 percent.
Universities spend anywhere from four to 11 times more on athletes than on other students, the survey found.
“If the business model of intercollegiate athletics persists in its current form, the considerable financial pressures and ever-increasing spending in today’s college sports system could lead to permanent and untenable competition between academics and athletics,” the report states.
“More broadly, this model could lead to a loss of credibility not just for intercollegiate sports, but for higher education itself.”
Despite budget cuts in other areas, athletic spending at FIU, FAU and most other public universities has grown steadily in recent years. Student fees pay for the bulk of the program costs.
Athletic fees at FIU have climbed from about $200 in 2000 to $368 this year for a student taking 12 hours a semester. FAU’s athletic fees have increased from $210 to $343 during that same period, with a proposed increase this fall that would raise them to $393.
The University of Florida, which has the state’s most successful sports program, charges students just $46 a year and hasn’t raised the fee in a decade.
Here are some of the Knight Commission’s specific recommendations:
Treat athletes as students first and foremost, reducing the length of seasons and number of events, and prevent the use of athletes’ identities to promote commercial entities or products.
Make public the financial reports filed by each institution with the NCAA, and add to these reports measures to compare athletic spending to academic spending.
Withdraw championship eligibility for teams not on track to graduate at least half of their athletes.
Tie revenue distribution more closely to academic values by creating a new revenue distribution method, the Academic-Athletics Balance Fund. This fund will reward institutions for teams achieving academic success and for maintaining an appropriate balance between their academic and athletics investments.
Reallocate current revenues distributed for winning to the Academic-Athletics Balance Fund.
Examine scholarship offerings, such as a decrease of eight to 10 football scholarships in the Football Bowl Subdivision
Limit the number of non-coaching personnel assigned to specific sports
The full report is available at http://www.knightcommission.org.