Not all university athletic programs can pull in the big donor bucks like Texas A&M, with the usually booming oil industry in the state, and Oregon, with Nike CEO Phil Knight footing the bill. Some institutions like Connecticut and Arizona must look at other means when fundraising for much-needed projects to upgrade facilities and improve the athletic experience for its student-athletes and fans.
While made with good intentions, the money-raising plans put forth by athletic directors such as Arizona’s innovative Greg Byrne (pictured left) – who wants to place a $200 fee on incoming students to help fund Arizona Stadium renovations – are met with resistance. An Arizona student body senator argued against the idea saying it is already burdensome for new students to pay tuition costs and living expenses while many don’t directly engage in activities at Arizona Stadium.
Connecticut plans to charge more money for men’s basketball and football tickets to help fund the construction of new soccer, baseball and softball stadiums. A surcharge of between $1 to $5 will be added to the tickets (not including student tickets) to help raise the estimated $46 million to build the new facilities.
The slippery-slope there is the Huskies are trying to become a Power 5 institution, but football attendance is a serious issue affecting that possibility. Connecticut drew an average of only 28,224 at its 40,642-seat off-campus facility in 2015. Raising the ticket prices will not help matters .
Texas A&M and Oregon were the top two athletic programs in 2015 that raised the most private donations. The Aggies raised $66.9 million while the Ducks brought in $53.7 million, according to study by the Council for Aid to Education. Institutions like this do not have to potentially offend students or ticket buyers because they have the funds to bypass what some may think of as last-ditch efforts to raise money for capital improvements.
It’s interesting to note that athletic director Warde Manuel (pictured right) left Connecticut for Michigan, which was No. 3 in donor donations in 2015 at $51.7 million. Manuel no longer has to concern himself as much with penny-pinching and the tiring campaign for the Huskies’ athletic program to get its due with a Power 5 inclusion, considering its abundance of national titles in men’s and women’s basketball.
Also of note, the top 10 list of donor money in 2015 was Washington at No. 8 with $30.7 million raised. Arizona and Washington are two of the 10 public schools in the Pac-12 (USC and Stanford are private) that currently do not have a student athletics fee. Arizona’s in-state rival Arizona State started implementing a fee last school year.
With its riches from donors, Washington does not need to do what Byrne is attempting to do incorporating student fees to help renovate Arizona’s 90-year-old football stadium. The work of athletic directors such as Byrne is never-ending while trying to bring balance and allow their coaches and student-athletes a more level playing field against institutions that have donors with deep pockets.
Byrne and his athletic staff looked at all options to raise money for the Arizona Stadium renovation project just as Manuel and his staff at Connecticut did before proposing to raise ticket prices for basketball and football games to help build the baseball, softball and soccer stadiums.
If both measures pass, the winners are not only Arizona’s football team and Connecticut’s soccer, baseball and softball teams. The winners overall are the institutions. In the long run, the success of the athletic programs mean more revenue for the university, which can translate into additional funding for the colleges within the university, which contributes to more resources for all students. The end result is a better education for those incoming students who will have to pay $200 more in Byrne’s scenario.
“We believe Arizona Stadium and Arizona football is very much a shining star of our campus,” Byrne told The Arizona Daily Wildcat. “It’s a place where our entire community comes together, and it’s something that our community, our university, our students and our student-athletes take pride in.”
Arizona does not plan to charge existing students $200 to complement money raised from donors for the proposed Arizona Stadium renovations. Moreover, the $200 from incoming freshman students takes care of their cost to join the Zona Zoo, which provides members seating for football and basketball games. Existing students can still join the Zona Zoo by paying a membership fee.
Eight other public institutions in the Pac-12 are benefitting from that student athletics fee. Their athletic departments, like that at Arizona, are not their own entity. The money raised from student athletic fees transcends to the functions of the entire university.
Byrne’s operation is a branch of the University of Arizona. The fruits from that branch enhance the roots of the institution. Keeping Arizona’s football stadium up to date, with amenities that will draw bigger crowds and generate more revenue, strengthens the roots of the university. Everybody stands to benefit when that occurs.
As for the Huskies, they need the baseball, softball and soccer facilities to better represent themselves to a Power 5 conference such as the Big 12. By joining the Big 12, for example, Connecticut’s athletic department revenue would greatly increase, which again, will have a rippling effect on the entire university and all of its students.
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