By Adam Hinton
The meeting of the Board of Directors of the UofL Athletic Association on June 20 revealed many new and upcoming plans to continue expanding and improving the athletics at the University, despite the supposed financial woes of the department made apparent by a string of budget deficits in the preceding years.
The operating deficit of the previous few years has come at the hest of an aggressive effort by the athletic department to not only raise the standards of UofL’s program to those of other top national programs but also to adhere to the gender equality standards set by Title IX. “We’ve probably put more money into Title IX than anyone in the country,” said Athletic Director Tom Jurich. In its 30th year, Title IX is a legislative initiative designed to ensure gender equality in varsity athletics.
The numbers prove that the department is meeting its goals. According to NCAA data, the UofL Athletic Department spends $63,353 per athlete per year. This number is third in all of Conference USA and the Big 12, behind only the University of Texas at $69,574 and the University of Colorado at $68,399.
Also of note is the source of the money spent by NCAA Division I-A schools. According to NCAA data, 28% of the average athletic budget comes from ticket sales. UofL’s budget, however, is 38% from ticket sales. UofL also comes out ahead in the fundraising department, 32% to the national average of 17%. UofL falls sorely short of the percentage of its budget raised from postseason play however, its paltry 2.5% to the national average of 12%. This is one area the department hopes to improve with the increased spending.
The graduated athletic fee proves to be only one small part in the increased annual budget. The new financial plan is one to balance the budget, not necessarily rescue the department from financial trouble. Quite the opposite of trouble, according to the latest financial report the department still has a $28 million scholarship and emergency fund that it hasn’t been forced to use yet.
Among the upcoming plans for the not so financially troubled department is a 3-4 year initiative to lay artificial turf on 3 of UofL’s athletic fields. The first field to get the make over will be the football practice field with construction scheduled to begin this month. Pending satisfaction with the practice field, Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium is set to get the turf in 2003 or 2004. After that the new baseball stadium is scheduled to receive the turf. According to the Athletic Department, funding for this project is coming from $1.5 million generated by the football program in the early 90’s that was deposited and endowed specifically to the football program.
Also up and coming is the new athletic dorm that will house the UofL Men’s basketball team, Cardinal Hall. Another hot topic of controversy, the two-story dorm will be near Bettie Johnson Hall on 4th street and will hold 35 or 36 beds. Half of these beds will allegedly be allocated to the basketball team while the other half will be open to non athletes. According to the Athletic Department, the dorm is being paid for entirely by a private donor and is of no cost at all to the department or the university.
