By Paula Gardner and Brian McVicar

Two west Michigan universities will host home football games on Sept. 10, a day of fanfare when students, alumni and fans will gather in Kalamazoo and Allendale in hopes that their teams will build on last year's winning records.

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EDITORIAL

* College students should know how much they're paying for athletic programs

But there's a $13.6 million difference.

That's how much more Western Michigan University spends to subsidize its athletic program than does Grand Valley State University, according to NCAA filings.

Western's sports subsidy grew 82 percent over 10 years, a pace far outstripping the growth of its general fund budget, and coming at a time when student enrollment decreased.

By 2015, that subsidy -- which largely consists of dollars transferred from the general fund to pay for athletics -- had grown to $25.8 million, an amount equal to $1,080 for every student.

And Western is not alone. Its Mid-American Conference counterparts Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan also heavily subsidize their athletic programs. Together, the three universities spent $72.6 million in institutional funds to pay for athletics last year, more than the state's 10 other public universities combined that offer NCAA athletics.

"This is real money we're talking about, money that many of these students are going to pay back, with interest," said Lisa Minnick, president of WMU's chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

"It means that students are taking out larger loans, not for educational purposes but to help subsidize the football program."

The dollar volume spent to fund athletics at EMU, WMU and CMU raises questions about how much Michigan taxpayers and students should pay for college sports.

The institutional funds used to subsidize athletics are made up largely of state allocations, tuition and students fees, and are the main pool of money that pays for academic programs.

And while EMU, WMU and CMU officials say they won't move to a lower, and less costly, NCAA division, the schools also don't clarify for students how much their athletic subsidy represents on a tuition bill.

Educators at EMU and WMU say they are increasingly concerned about the money flowing from tuition payments to athletic offices. They're joining national voices that question college sports funding across the U.S.

Malcolm Getz, an associate professor of economics at Vanderbilt University, said students are often "kept in the dark" when it comes to how universities fund college athletics and the degree to which colleges are subsidizing sports.

At a time when average student debt is north of $25,000, "That should be a real head scratcher," Getz said.

Striking a balance

MLive.com obtained through the Freedom of Information Act the financial disclosure statements provided to the NCAA from Michigan's 13 public universities that offer NCAA-level athletics.

A look at those numbers showed that MAC schools aren't alone in subsidizing athletics. Michigan's four-year public colleges spent $140.3 million in institutional funds to pay for their athletics programs in 2014-15, according to forms they submitted to the NCAA.

At the same time, no outside public oversight applies to Michigan's college athletic funding. Each governing body -- in most cases, an appointed board -- determines spending priorities

SEARCHABLE DATABASE See revenue, funding and enrollment of Michigan's public universities in 2005 and 2015.



See revenue, funding and enrollment of Michigan's public universities in 2005 and 2015.

"There's no question that athletics are an important part of the schools," said recently retired athletic director Tim Selgo of Grand Valley State University. He offered reasons like school branding, public relations and campus spirit, in addition to benefits to the athletes.

"There's a value to be placed on it," Selgo said. "The question is: How much should that value be?"

At Grand Valley, the answer is firm: Its $12.2 million subsidy in the last NCAA reporting period provides students a full athletic experience for millions of dollars less than the three MAC institutions. On a per-student basis, Grand Valley spends less than half paid by those enrolled at EMU and WMU. The difference is that GVSU plays in Division II.

And it has no desire to change that, Selgo said. The school's 20 athletic teams are competitive. The athletes discover a "life in balance" philosophy. The subsidy, which the NCAA figures put at just under 4 percent of the general fund, delivers value to campus, he said.

"We believe our students pay a lot of money at Grand Valley," Selgo said. "We don't want to charge a lot more because our egos say we should be Division I."

Whatever its strategy, GVSU is seeing great success with enrollment. Over the past decade, while EMU, WMU and CMU have lost students, Grand Valley has grown by more than 3,000 -- and its undergraduate population now exceeds that at each MAC school.

Raising concerns

Spending on college athletics in Michigan put a spotlight on EMU in April, when faculty and students urged regents to leave Division I football. Doing so, they said, would save the university money and lower student debt.

EMU pumps the biggest subsidy into athletics among all public universities in Michigan -- $27.3 million, based on $18.1 million in direct institutional funding and an estimated $9.2 million in indirect costs, according to the NCAA form. Combined, the direct and indirect subsidies account for 80 percent of the university's reported $34 million athletic budget.

Direct funding includes sources such as tuition, state funds, tuition waivers and investment income that isn't earmarked specifically for athletics, according to NCAA. Indirect support includes costs such as security, utilities, maintenance, and administrative services such as human resources and accounting.

EMU officials said they used an incorrect formula to determine the indirect subsidy that they provided to the NCAA. They say a more accurate number would have been $1.9 million, which combines debt service and an overhead expense estimate. The institution moved its athletic budget from the general fund to the auxiliary budget for the 2016-17 year in part to more accurately account for athletic spending, EMU spokesman Geoff Larcom said.

More thoroughly pinpointing costs is important at a school like EMU, experts said, where, according to federal figures, 72 percent of undergraduate students borrow an average of $8,869 per year to help pay for college.

It's an issue at Western, too, where, according to federal figures, 66 percent of undergraduates borrow an average of $7,566 per year. Its faculty also is raising concerns.

"Every time resources are diverted away from instruction, whether it's for athletics or for anything else, it becomes more challenging for faculty and staff to find ways to continue to honor the university's academic mission," Minnick said.

"... I think the biggest concern for faculty is the extent to which the financial burden for subsidizing the football program is shouldered by our students," she said. "What are the ethics of passing these costs on to students?"

WMU's athletic budget in 2015 was $34.7 million. Of that, $20.5 million was considered direct subsidy with total institutional support pegged at $25.8 million. That means three of every four dollars spent on athletics at Western in 2015 came from money generated outside of the athletics department, documents sent to the NCAA show.

At CMU, the subsidy last year was $19.4 million on a total athletics budget of $27.9 million, meaning nearly 70 percent came from institutional support.

The MAC schools are Division I, which is the NCAA's highest division, but they are often referred to as "mid-majors," meaning they don't have the money or prestige of universities that compete in top-tier conferences such as the Big Ten or SEC.

Just a handful of Division I institutions ran self-sustaining athletic programs in 2014. That's a national issue, as experts point to an escalating divide between the "haves" and "have not" schools.

With TV deals and conference payouts, Division I is the most lucrative. However, the numbers at EMU, CMU and WMU show that the division comes at a cost, too.

Officials at all three schools say they won't leave Division I, which mandates at least 14 sports, sets a required mix for them, and allows full scholarships for athletes - numbers that are included in the subsidies.

"We offer students all the benefits of a research university and a campus environment that includes a classic collegiate sports program to enjoy," WMU President John Dunn said. "I remain convinced that an institution dropping down from Division I to Division II is unlikely to save much, if any, money."

The subsidy itself is not a concern at EMU, officials said. The school is proud of its Division I history and wants its athletes who compete in all sports to experience it. Eastern has raised scholarship amounts across campus, and values the diversity athletes bring to the school.

"Only a handful (of colleges) break even or make money," said Donald Loppnow, who served as EMU's interim president until July 1. "We're not atypical. Even Division II schools (are) spending their money."

"To me, it's a very good investment," Loppnow said of Division I sports, "if one puts it in context. Our university emphasizes academics first and foremost."

WMU's Broncos have had more success on the football field and in drawing fans to home football games, but the value of the subsidy has grown in Kalamazoo over the past decade.

In 2005, Western Michigan spent $14.2 million in institutional funds to pay for the athletics department, according to NCAA documents. The amount accounted for 72.3 percent of the athletic department's revenue that year. In 2015, the subsidy was $25.8 million -- an 82 percent increase -- and the subsidy had grown to 74.5 percent of the athletic department's total revenue.

Kyle Bonds, 28, a senior at WMU, said if spending less on athletics would mean more scholarships for non-student athletes, he would be all for it.

"I would certainly like to see more opportunities for students who can't ride that athletic gravy train," he said. "I don't think it would hurt the university's reputation if they spent more on academics and less on their athletic program."

Football dominates

In Mt. Pleasant, CMU President George Ross said his school's spending on athletics helps the university's brand, namely through football - the most expensive college sport.

"The fact that we have exposure of Central Michigan University to national audiences, I think benefits the university," Ross said.

CMU's home football games are major events on campus and the Chippewas regularly compete for conference championships. Former head coach Brian Kelly is now the head coach at Notre Dame, bringing a level of acclaim to CMU, which averaged 15,672 in home attendance in 2015.

At Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, it's a different story. While some sports are earning conference titles, football's struggle has lasted decades. The Eagles haven't had a winning season since 1995, and they routinely finish near the bottom of the rankings in the MAC. The Eagles have only won three conference games over the past four seasons.

Home football games are poorly attended -- so poor that EMU gave away free tuition to a student last season during a halftime marketing event. Some years, Pepsi buys tickets at a discount so that the school reaches the NCAA Division I minimum. Last year, its average game attendance of 4,897 was the lowest in the nation.

The biggest sports budget culprit is football spending, said EMU professor Howard Bunsis, who delivered that message to EMU regents during their meeting in April. He thinks EMU should not compete in Division I football.

"It doesn't make any sense," said Bunsis. "It has absolutely no justification at Eastern Michigan."

EMU says it plans to keep Division I football. Donald Loppnow, EMU's former interim president, said in an interview earlier this summer that the MAC conference is a good fit for all of EMU's sports, and regents are not requesting a change.

What the board is discussing instead: How to raise more money to support intercollegiate athletics, Loppnow said.

While achieving a self-sustaining program is "not possible" at EMU or most other universities, Loppnow said, Athletic Director Heather Lyke and alumni are part of development activities to increase donations.

At the same time, new EMU President James Smith told MLive.com that he's ready to evaluate the cost balance of athletics, which he defined as "critically important" to campus: "We probably spend too much of our general fund money on athletics," he said in July.

Dunn said he believes WMU's spending to compete in Division I is appropriate.

"When you look at the totality and wholeness of who we are, and our profile as a national research university, I think we're very much in the norm," Dunn said. "I don't think we've been, what I would call, totally out of control with our expenditures in athletics."

Dunn said switching to Division II would not be a significant costs savings for the university. Such a move would reduce the number of student scholarships the university is required to fund, but it wouldn't mean spending less on the use and maintenance of facilities.

Plus, he said, the switch could result in the loss of students who come to WMU with the "hopes of walking on to a Division I program and playing the sport at that level."

GVSU charts different course

Many of the state's Division II schools subsidize their athletics to an even greater degree than Division I - but the total dollar amounts are lower.

Division II athletes don't get full scholarships. The schools must provide at least five sports for men and five sports for women, according to the NCAA.

GVSU spends the most among the Division II schools -- $15.6 million of the athletics budget in 2015. However, GVSU generated the most outside revenue among its peers, reaching $3.7 million from sports camps, donations, concessions, ticket sales and other barometers of interest in its programs.

While Michigan's MAC schools lost students over the last decade, GVSU grew by 3,000 students and its undergraduate population now exceeds those at EMU, WMU and CMU.

The Lakers have seen their share of success on the football field, winning national championships in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. Yet moving to Division I is not in consideration, since President Thomas Haas estimates the university would need to boost its annual athletic budget by millions of dollars. Selgo says facility upgrades could add $80,000 to that, while some sports would have to be cut.

Making the change at GVSU would require a tuition increase or student athletics fees, Haas said, something he says he's not prepared to initiate.

"I'm not willing to ask students to have their tuition raised for something that isn't going to give them a good return on that investment," Haas said.

Haas said GVSU has distinguished itself as a standout program within Division II. That sort of success isn't guaranteed in Division I.

"If we were to compete in the MAC we would probably have to go to about $25 million (athletic budget), and then all the other obligations that go along with that," he said. "And would we reap a good return as differentiated from where we are in Division II? I think not."

Accountability and sustainability

Experts say the national climate for collegiate athletics in both football and basketball continue to push colleges' limits as they seek to reach an elusive goal: profitability.

And for the schools that don't, running annual deficits is "not sustainable," said Rick Hesel, principal at Art & Science, a Baltimore-based higher education consulting firm.

"We'll probably see the weaker teams in certain divisions ... maybe give up football all together," Hesel said.

If colleges don't seek to limit their students' exposure to the costs of Division I athletics, Hesel said, the next step "may very well be with legislators and policy makers with a critical eye on higher education."

State Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, one of three groups of Michigan lawmakers that negotiated $1.5 billion in contributions to the state's 15 public universities for 2016-17.

Michigan legislators won't get involved in athletic funding decisions, due to the state's constitution, Schuitmaker said: "We can't direct them how to spend their money."

Oversight for college spending decisions, Schuitmaker said, depends on the public seeking accountability. "It's up to students, parents and community activists to go to boards and ask them why (they're making their decisions)."

David Ridpath, president of the Drake Group that advocates for more emphasis on academics in college athletics, said colleges and universities should be more transparent about how they pay for college athletics.

Ridpath suggested universities such as EMU show how much, on a per-student basis, they're subsidizing sports programs to current and prospective students.

"If it's so popular, if it's something that matters to Eastern Michigan, then let's see what the market will bear," said Ridpath. "Show the kids what they're paying, and let's let people vote with their pocketbook."

He added, "But of course we're afraid to do that, because we know exactly what would happen."