Athletic departments see surge financially in down economy

More than $470 million in new money poured into major college athletics programs last year, boosting spending on sports even as many of the parent universities struggled with funding reductions during tough economic times, a USA TODAY analysis has found.

Much of the rise in athletics revenue came from an escalation in money generated through multi-media rights deals, donations and ticket receipts, but schools also continued increasing their subsidies from student fees and institutional funds.

Altogether in 2010, about $2 billion in subsidies went to athletics programs at the 218 public schools that have been in the NCAA's top-level Division I over the past five years. Those subsidies grew by an inflation-adjusted 3% in 2010. They have grown by 28% since 2006 and account for $1 of every $3 spent on athletics.

Even with 2010's more modest growth rate, these increases run counter to the national trend of declining state support for public colleges, many of which have imposed layoffs, salary freezes, cuts in course offerings and substantial tuition and fee hikes. While about a third of the 218 Division I schools trimmed athletics budgets last year, about a third either increased their spending faster than money came in, or spending cuts didn't keep up with losses.

"Athletics apparently has no oversight," says Ken Struckmeyer, an associate professor at Washington State who co-chairs the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, a faculty group that advocates for athletics reform. "They generate (money), then they spend whatever they bring in — and if that's not enough, the board of regents provides a subsidy to help them win. … Apparently the measure of success of universities now is wins by the football team or the basketball team."

USA TODAY, through open-records requests, has compiled an database of financial reports schools send annually to the NCAA. All told, nearly $6.2 billion was spent last year on athletics at the 218 schools. That means athletics spending grew by 3% in 2010. Total revenue grew by 5.5% in 2010.

With revenue growing faster than expenses, there has been an increase in the number of schools whose revenue generated by the athletics department activities exceeds the department's total expenses — the NCAA's benchmark for whether an athletics program is financially self-sufficient. There were 22 such schools in 2010, up from 14 in 2009; there were 25 such schools in 2008.

Five of the 22 self-sufficient programs reduced spending in 2010 — Georgia, Michigan State, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech.

The financial figures underscore the widening gap between the financially solid programs and the rest of the pack.

The NCAA, in an annual report on Division I finances released Wednesday, noted that the median net surplus for the 22 self-sufficient programs was about $7.4 million, and the median net deficit for the other 98 major programs was about $11.3 million. The gap of nearly $19 million is up from $15.6 million in 2009. The NCAA report includes information from private schools.