Posted: 12/1/09
The UC Office of Public Affairs, which declares its mission as "enhanc[ing] communications and relationships with UC Berkeley's many constituents," is lately tasked with handling a series of escalating events, including budget cuts and nationally covered student protests . . .
In what will surely account for more sleepless nights at the public affairs office, a new debate has emerged from within UC Berkeley's Academic Senate over the university's priorities of academia versus athletics.
On November 5, the Academic Senate voted 91-68 to approve a non-binding resolution that recommends UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau end campus subsidies to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA), as well as end DIA's deficit spending, and include coaches in the full furlough program facing UC Berkeley professors and staff. Additionally, the resolution "recommends that the chancellor and the development staff urge donors to prioritize academics at the Berkeley campus."
Academic programs have suffered massive budget cuts, and the subsidies offered to DIA (through the chancellor's discretionary spending, in the case of UC Berkeley) are considered by many to be misappropriated.
Perhaps the resolution, co-signed by eight university professors, might not be as newsworthy if it was not for the 21-page "FAQ" that UC Berkeley Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour released before the Academic Senate vote.
Barbour's intention with the FAQ was to present "ample evidence regarding the tangible and intangible benefits of a robust Athletics program; our careful stewardship of precious resources . . . and the steps we are taking towards our long-term, aspirational goal of financial self-sufficiency."
In an effort to be transparent, Barbour presented the DIA's budget numbers for this fiscal year and the next, compared to recent years. According to the FAQ, in addition to DIA's "institutional support" (chancellor support and student registration fees), the department has run annual deficits, backed by university loans and repaid through fiscal year 2007, when Chancellor Birgeneau forgave DIA its $31.4 million debt to the university. Barbour insists that the deficits projected for this year and next, $12.2 million, "will be repaid in the future from external sources of revenue."
A recent article from Inside Higher Ed provides more evidence of the disappointment felt by some in the academic community at UC Berkeley over what they feel is a prioritization of athletics over academia: Customarily, the library on campus stays open 24 hours during finals week, but not this semester -- the university cited a "lack of funds."
Though a donor ultimately offered to cover the operating costs to continue the tradition, Brian Barsky, a professor of computer science at UC Berkeley and co-signer of the resolution, was dissatisfied.
"Apparently the chancellor couldn't find the funds to keep the library open even though the cost was a fraction of 1 percent of what he takes out of his discretionary funds to subsidize Intercollegiate Athletics," Barsky told Inside Higher Ed.
"The amount was less than what the football team pays to the local luxury hotel where it stays on the eve of each home game. What does that say about the priorities of this great institution, the best public university in the country?"
The day after the Academic Senate voted to approve the Intercollegiate Athletics resolution, the Bay Area public radio program "Forum" hosted a discussion on the UC Berkeley sports budget issue . . . The program focused on a central question: What is the core mission of the university, and is athletics a component to that mission, particularly within the context of such dire fiscal constraints?
During the program, Barbour pointed out that institutional support for DIA has been cut by 20 percent, and that the department is "sharing the pain" with the rest of campus in the face of state budget cuts to higher education.
When discussing why DIA couldn't impose more drastic cuts, Barbour insisted that athletic department spending cuts need to be addressed nationwide.
According to the FAQ she released on behalf of DIA, a 2009 NCAA study showed that only 25 of more than 300 programs at the Division 1 level generated a surplus; put another way, the vast majority of athletic programs are in the same boat as UC Berkeley. Barbour says that if UC Berkeley's athletics department had to pay its own way, it would no longer be competitive, which would go "against Berkeley's principle of excellence."
Both Mogulof and Barbour also made clear that the institutional support for DIA is largely directed toward the university's compliance with Title IX and commitment to gender equity. According to the FAQ, only the men's football and basketball teams generate a profit, so the net cost of the 14 women's teams, around $8 million, are covered in large part by annual institutional support.
In terms of the university assessing the competing priorities of academics and athletics, Mogulof admitted there are differing, even "religious" views of what a great university should be. He said the chancellor believes that academics, research, and education are at the heart of at a great school, but that that vision includes more than just academics.
He likened a great university to a small town, with a "variety of endeavors that span the spectrum of human expression, human interest and human knowledge." Mogulof insisted that the arts and athletics are key components of an excellent university.
In this rest of the world this sport is called football.
Hofstra could probably start new men's and women's soccer programs for less money than it would take to operate the now defunct men's football team. Certainly the equipment and uniform costs alone would be substantially less.
A typical soccer team has 18 team members and the competition for elite players would be a lot less intense than for football players that Division 1 universities covet. In addition, soccer is an international sport. American foootball is a national US sport.
source: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/12/01/scholastic-smackdown-academics-vs-sports-in-california-funding/
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