Questions and answers concerning Rutgers' intercollegiate athletics program.
How is the university improving oversight of athletics?
At the direction of the Board of Governors and President McCormick, the university has and will continue to implement a series of initiatives to improve fiscal and administrative oversight of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics and other areas of the university.
Corrective measures already implemented by the president include the appointment of a deputy director of athletics for finance and administration to oversee all financial and administrative operations of athletics and the establishment of a procedure by which all new athletic sponsorship agreements—and other negotiated contracts with vendors—will be reviewed by the General Counsel's office before the contracts are finalized.
Going forward, the board has approved a number of measures to improve oversight, including the establishment of new procedures for the approval of employment contracts that involve salaries greater than $300,000, both universitywide and in the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Board also increased the number of regular meetings of its Audit Committee to a minimum of five per year.
In the current economic environment, how can Rutgers justify spending so much on its intercollegiate athletics program?
Rutgers' athletics budget for FY2008 was approximately $52 million, or about 3 percent of the university's total $1.72 billion budget.
Academics and athletics reinforce each other, which is why Rutgers remains committed to excellence in both.
A successful athletics program contributes to Rutgers' overall reputation and prestige as New Jersey's State University. We have seen that a winning athletics program draws increased applications and visits to campus, an improved student profile, and increased giving to Rutgers. It also contributes to the student experience and builds a sense of community among alumni.
The president has said that one of his goals for athletics is for the program to pay for itself. Is that a realistic expectation?
Revenues generated by athletics continue to increase, doubling over the past five years from $20.2 million in 2004 to a projected $40.7 million this year. Athletic revenues as a percentage of the total athletic budget have also increased, rising from 61 percent in 2004 to 71 percent in 2008.
According to the
Chronicle of Higher Education, 16 athletic programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I earned a net profit between 2004 and 2006. Rutgers, which competes in this elite subdivision and has been invited to a bowl for the past four consecutive years, is working to become part of this self-supporting group.
Couldn't the money that now goes to athletics be redirected to academics?
The university spends more than $1 billion a year on student instruction, academic research, libraries, and financial aid. In contrast, in FY 2008 Rutgers spent approximately $52 million—about 3 percent of its budget—on athletics. Athletics is an important part of the university experience for many students, alumni, and others in the university community, and Rutgers' recent success has brought tremendous pride to New Jersey.
Why doesn't Rutgers put the rest of the stadium expansion on hold until the economy improves?
That is economically not feasible. The expansion project is completely self-supporting and requires the revenue generated by the additional seats. The $102 million project, which will increase the stadium's seating capacity to approximately 54,000, will be funded entirely by revenue generated by the success of the athletics program—including ticket sales for the approximately 12,500 new seats as well as parking fees, concession sales, and donations from season ticket holders. Due to rising cost projections, the university has scaled back the scope of the project to stay within the original $102 million budget. Some portions of the project that will not generate revenue—such as new locker rooms—will be deferred to a later date.
Doesn't raising money for the stadium simply divert money from worthy academic projects?
The vast majority—approximately 95 percent—of the money raised by the Rutgers University Foundation is for academic purposes. In fact, the university recently reported two multimillion-dollar gifts—an anonymous $13 million to support construction of a new building for the Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick on the Livingston Campus and to establish an endowed chair in business and natural resources, and a $10 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to establish the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health on the George H. Cook Campus.
How does Rutgers know that the success of athletics is generating more and better applications? Couldn't it just be a result of the poor economy and students looking for an affordable option close to home?
In the last 10 years, first-year applications to Rutgers have increased nearly 40 percent to 32,809. In the past five years, the number of people taking tours of the New Brunswick campus has increased by 179 percent, with more than 11,000 touring the campus just this past summer. The number of enrolled Presidential Scholars—students with a minimum SAT score of 1500 and class rank in the top 5 percent—increased from 59 in 2007 to 88 in 2008. Certainly, athletics is not solely responsible for these numbers. Enhanced and expanded academic programs along with an internationally renowned faculty are crucial to Rutgers' ability to attract large numbers of highly talented students. However, the national exposure of our athletic teams is providing an important opportunity to increase awareness among prospective students and their families of Rutgers' standing as a major public research university.
