Orin Starn, a professor of cultural anthropology, questions whether his institution, Duke University, should continue to subsidize its athletics program. In an opinion published in the Durham Herald-Sun, Starn points to Duke’s $10 million subsidy to its athletics program last year and questions the expense when liberal arts programs are in the midst of having…
As reported in Politics Daily, on November 5 at the University of California Berkeley (UC), the Academic Senate voted to recommend to UC Chancellor Robert Birgeneau to not continue subsidizing the athletics program, to end the athletic department’s deficit spending, and to include coaches in the full furlough program facing UC Berkeley professors and staff.…
On December 3, the Arizona Board of Regents held a meeting at which the future of intercollegiate athletics in the state of Arizona was discussed. Welch Suggs, a consultant to the Knight Commission, made a presentation of College Sports 101 and the recent Presidential Survey on the Cost and Financing of Intercollegiate Athletics. Among the…
An opnion by Gilbert Gaul, published in the editorial section of the November 28, 2009, editon of the New York Times, pointed to the concern over escalating costs of intercollegiate athletics and the recent report from the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics of the unsustainable spending on football and basketball coaches at NCAA Division I…
On November 23, 2009, Northeastern University made a decision to discontinue its Division I football program. In a statement from the University, “it was determined that elevating and sustaining a competitive Division 1 football program would require additional multi-million dollar investments on an ongoing basis. A broad consensus developed behind discontinuing football and focusing future…
On November 24, the Columbia Free Times published an article that discussed the escalating cost of college athletics, particularly coaching salaries of head football and men’s basketball coaches at major Division I institutions. The article referred to the Presidential Survey report released in October by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics which found that most…
According to a report released by the NCAA on November 18, 79 percent of college athletes who entered college between 1999 and 2002 received their degrees within six years, up one percentage point from last year. However, the three sports which graduated the fewest players in previous years — football, men’s baseball, and men’s basketball…
Op-ed published in USA Today, November 13, 2009. William E. Kirwan, chancellor, University System of Maryland R. Gerald Turner, president, Southern Methodist University As co-chairmen of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, we are concerned that cost escalation in athletics is diminishing support for academics at many universities. In the 2007-08 school year, nearly 80%…
The University of New Orleans (UNO) has announced it is considering dropping from NCAA Division I to Division III due to financial constraints. The UNO athletic department received significant budget cuts in the current fiscal year, and a student referendum to increase student fees to support the athletic department failed in spring 2009. According to…
USA Today recently published several articles relating to rising cost of college football coaching salaries. Their investigation of 2009 salaries found an annual compensation of greater than $2 million for more than 25 head coaches in the NCAA’s highest competitive level, the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS); at least 56 coaches were earning greater…