Rallying Cry
For those of you who have been following the news on Row2k, the decision by Rutgers University to keep six of the Olympic sports on the chopping block despite the $3 million of pledges isn't much of a surprise. In addition to men's light- and heavyweight rowing, the school plans to demote men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, and men's and women's fencing from varsity status to club sports.
For the record, the entire operating budget for these six teams totals to about $800,000. The $3 million that boosters have raised alone could fund these sports for 3 and 3/4 of the next academic years. That means the programs could run from next fall to this time four years from now.
To put this in perspective, the annual operating budget of the Rutgers athletic department is $40 million. $40 million. The operating budget of those six sports equals 2% of the entire athletic department.
Where does the rest of that 98% go?
A majority of it goes to the Scarlet Knights' football program. Rutgers football went to its second straight Bowl game this past season, defeating Kansas State 37-10. Meanwhile, the football budget last year was $13 million. That's 32.5% of the athletic department budget for the year. The school has been arguing that with the increase of applicants to the University and the large incoming freshman class, some of that chunk can be made up through ticket sales at home games. How much money do you think ticket sales can make up over the course of three months of games? I wasn't able to locate figures, but I'm willing to be that it's not the $12,200,000 that would make up the difference between the football budget and the budget for these six sports that are about to be cut.
The bottom line for the decision-makers at Rutgers University is the fact that none of these sports are revenue-producing sports. Take a look at these statistics:
-women's fencing has the highest cumulative GPA of all varsity sports at Rutgers
-four of the five men's teams being eliminated have GPAs in the top five
-14 Olympians have come from Rutgers crew -- since 1992
-men's and women's fencing have produced 32 All-Americans and an NCAA championship in the past 20 years -- this was the only NCAA championship Rutgers produced during this period
In light of all these facts, the school's refusal to consider keeping these sports on with the offer of $3 million to support them from alums and other boosters is simply ridiculous. Legitimate budget shortages are unfortunate but understandable. However, this just stinks of something larger. As the premiere land-grant university in New Jersey, don't they have a responsibility to promote excellence in academics and athletics, even if the athletics in question don't produce a profit?
So now the rallying cry. I'm going to ask anybody who reads this blog to write to the movers and shakers at Rutgers. As members of the rowing community, we should all fight to keep venerable collegiate programs alive. They are as much a part of our sports' history as they are the university's. So write to some of the people listed on the Save Rutgers Tennis website. Let them know that their decision is irresponsible and unjust for the athletes who race and play for the Scarlet Knights with little or no recognition.
(Sources: The Daily Targum and NorthJersey.com)
For the record, the entire operating budget for these six teams totals to about $800,000. The $3 million that boosters have raised alone could fund these sports for 3 and 3/4 of the next academic years. That means the programs could run from next fall to this time four years from now.
To put this in perspective, the annual operating budget of the Rutgers athletic department is $40 million. $40 million. The operating budget of those six sports equals 2% of the entire athletic department.
Where does the rest of that 98% go?
A majority of it goes to the Scarlet Knights' football program. Rutgers football went to its second straight Bowl game this past season, defeating Kansas State 37-10. Meanwhile, the football budget last year was $13 million. That's 32.5% of the athletic department budget for the year. The school has been arguing that with the increase of applicants to the University and the large incoming freshman class, some of that chunk can be made up through ticket sales at home games. How much money do you think ticket sales can make up over the course of three months of games? I wasn't able to locate figures, but I'm willing to be that it's not the $12,200,000 that would make up the difference between the football budget and the budget for these six sports that are about to be cut.
The bottom line for the decision-makers at Rutgers University is the fact that none of these sports are revenue-producing sports. Take a look at these statistics:
-women's fencing has the highest cumulative GPA of all varsity sports at Rutgers
-four of the five men's teams being eliminated have GPAs in the top five
-14 Olympians have come from Rutgers crew -- since 1992
-men's and women's fencing have produced 32 All-Americans and an NCAA championship in the past 20 years -- this was the only NCAA championship Rutgers produced during this period
In light of all these facts, the school's refusal to consider keeping these sports on with the offer of $3 million to support them from alums and other boosters is simply ridiculous. Legitimate budget shortages are unfortunate but understandable. However, this just stinks of something larger. As the premiere land-grant university in New Jersey, don't they have a responsibility to promote excellence in academics and athletics, even if the athletics in question don't produce a profit?
So now the rallying cry. I'm going to ask anybody who reads this blog to write to the movers and shakers at Rutgers. As members of the rowing community, we should all fight to keep venerable collegiate programs alive. They are as much a part of our sports' history as they are the university's. So write to some of the people listed on the Save Rutgers Tennis website. Let them know that their decision is irresponsible and unjust for the athletes who race and play for the Scarlet Knights with little or no recognition.
(Sources: The Daily Targum and NorthJersey.com)
posted by theoarsman at 10:16
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home