The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics released a major report today calling for, among other changes, greater financial openness among college athletics departments.
The 24-page report, “Restoring the Balance: Dollars, Values, and the Future of College Sports,” focuses on the biggest programs, where a rapid increase in expenses, along with a willingness to take on heavy debt loads and major capital projects, are threatening the long-term sustainability of college sports, the report says.
The commission offers several recommendations for increasing accountability in college sports in this climate, including:
- Greater financial transparency that would better compare athletics and academic spending and provide more information on long-term athletics debt and capital spending;
- Stronger oversight from the NCAA and governing boards;
- An adjustment of the revenue-distribution formulas from the NCAA and Bowl Championship Series to be based, in part, on the academic performance of athletes.
That last wish might be a tall order. We’ll have more coverage later today and tomorrow.
2 Responses to Big Spenders, Little Openness
11172674 - June 17, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Libby Sander has captured the essence of the report, and zeros in on the most complex and demanding task at hand…connecting revenue with academic performance. I’m eager to see her continuing analysis. Chris Shinkman
jbeckham - June 17, 2010 at 4:47 pm
The rich are getting richer and the playing field is way out of balance! Revenue generation by intercollegiate sport programs is just one element of inequity, as the University of Texas demonstrated when it declined to realign with the Pac-10 and continued its association with the Big-12, where it benefits disproportionately in relationship to the other conference programs. Another issue involves booster contribution and accountability. Most programs operate with an annual budget deficit covered by the institution’s operating budget. A few programs make up the deficit through Booster contributions. The elite programs have operating revenues that meet annual expenses plus a powerful booster organization that helps build high end facilities, galvanize the fan base and develop additional investments and marketing initiatives that propel the programs to even more exalted levels of funding excess.