$33 million funds college sports

[Eastcoastgriz]

$33 million funds college sports
By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian


It's no surprise that it takes a lot of money to operate intercollegiate athletics, but exactly how much money is that?

According to a 2006 fiscal summary of all the athletic departments in the Montana university system, it takes $33 million to fund the programs at state schools in Missoula, Bozeman, Billings, Havre, Butte and Dillon.

Collectively, those programs operated on a budget of $34.5 million and generated a profit of about $1.5 million.


So where does the money come from to keep these programs in the game?

Freida Houser, director of budget and accounting in Montana's Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, outlines costs this way:

Of the $34.5 million in total revenue, $13.6 million, or 39 percent, comes from direct institutional support, including state-appropriated funds for fee waivers and current operations of the athletic department, transfers or allocations made in support of athletics.

The second-largest revenue source comes from ticket sales, which accounted for $5.3 million in revenue or 15 percent of the total. Other significant revenue sources, she said, include student fees and contributions that collectively generated $4.4 million, or almost 13 percent of the total revenue.

On the expenditure side, coaches and staff salaries and benefits take the largest chunk from budgets - those expenses amounted to $9 million, or 27 percent of total expenditures. Financial aid for student athletes earned second place, ringing in at $8.5 million, or 26 percent of total expenditures.

Football brought in the most revenue - $10.5 million. It also required the most resources - $9.4 million - to operate the programs.

Combined, men's and women's basketball cost about $6.6 million to operate and yielded a deficit of almost $915,000.

Nearly 1,500 student athletes participated in 14 different intercollegiate sports in 2005-06. Of those students, 66 percent were male and 54 percent were Montana residents.

[BleedsBlue&Gold]

[quote]Football brought in the most revenue - $10.5 million. It also required the most resources - $9.4 million - to operate the programs.

Combined, men's and women's basketball cost about $6.6 million to operate and yielded a deficit of almost $915,000. [/quote]


I think we can all thank Title IX a little for this defecit problem.

If Universities were to only operate sports that make a profit, that would leave us with. . . . . . .

[GrizinWashington]

Football brought in the most revenue - $10.5 million. It also required the most resources - $9.4 million - to operate the programs.

Combined, men's and women's basketball cost about $6.6 million to operate and yielded a deficit of almost $915,000.

I think we can all thank Title IX a little for this defecit problem.

If Universities were to only operate sports that make a profit, that would leave us with. . . . . . .

True. But college athletics was never supposed to be about making a profiit.

[Ponycat]

Football brought in the most revenue - $10.5 million. It also required the most resources - $9.4 million - to operate the programs.

Combined, men's and women's basketball cost about $6.6 million to operate and yielded a deficit of almost $915,000.

I think we can all thank Title IX a little for this defecit problem.

If Universities were to only operate sports that make a profit, that would leave us with. . . . . . .

True. But college athletics was never supposed to be about making a profiit.

Typically in most colleges, Football, Mens Basketball, and in some cases womens basketball are the only programs that run in the black. BEFORE and After Title IX came in to being.

Sports is a scholarship program just like any other and making money isn't the primary goal.