Athletic/Instruction Expenditures
Intercollegiate athletics have a long history in American higher education and have become a staple of popular American culture. Beyond building school recognition and unity, many argue that athletics enhance the undergraduate experience of student athletes by teaching intangible skills such as teamwork and leadership. However, it is clear that the education of students and research are the primary functions of higher education and should be at the forefront of an institution’s mission. Our findings suggest that academic values are in danger of becoming subordinate to athletics at some institutions, at least in terms of expenditures.
In allocating scarce resources an institution is forced to make a tradeoff between these two demands for funding. Data from the U.S. Department of Education allow us to calculate the ratio between total athletic and instructional expenditures for Division 1-A institutions in 2006 (excluding the U.S. Naval and Air Force Academies, which do not have data available). The results vary widely among institutions; however, it is interesting to note the surprisingly high ratios for several schools at the top of the list. For example, the University of Arkansas spends 56.5 percent as much on athletics as it does on instruction, and the University of Alabama 50.2 percent.
To be fair, much of the money spent by athletic programs is shouldered by the athletics departments themselves from generated revenue. However, the fact remains that in 2006 only 19 athletic programs nationwide realized positive net generated revenue. The remaining 100 programs had to be subsidized using wider institutional resources. When making decisions about how best to allocate resources, it is important for university officials to consider the value of each component to the wider mission of the institution. The table below provides the athletic to instructional expenditures ratio of the 119 Division 1 institutions.
|
School |
Athletic/Instructional Expenditures |
|
University of Arkansas |
56.5% |
|
University of Alabama |
50.2% |
|
University of Tulsa |
48.1% |
|
University of Nebraska |
45.9% |
|
Texas Christian University |
43.2% |
|
Oklahoma University |
41.2% |
|
Auburn University |
40.8% |
|
University of Mississippi |
35.6% |
|
Louisiana State University |
33.8% |
|
Clemson University |
33.4% |
|
University of Oregon |
33.0% |
|
Louisiana Tech University |
32.8% |
|
Oregon State University |
32.5% |
|
Texas Tech University |
31.7% |
|
University of Georgia |
31.0% |
|
Mississippi State University |
30.9% |
|
Oklahoma State University |
30.6% |
|
Boston College |
28.7% |
|
Kansas State University |
27.7% |
|
University of Kansas |
27.5% |
|
Fresno State |
27.3% |
|
Baylor University |
27.2% |
|
Marshall University |
27.2% |
|
Boise State University |
27.1% |
|
Georgia Institute of Technology |
27.0% |
|
Southern Methodist University |
26.8% |
|
University of Virginia |
26.7% |
|
University of Memphis |
26.4% |
|
University of Texas-El Paso |
26.3% |
|
University of South Carolina |
26.3% |
|
University of Louisville |
26.3% |
|
Virginia Tech |
25.6% |
|
University of Notre Dame |
25.2% |
|
University of Kentucky |
25.0% |
|
West Virginia University |
24.6% |
|
Arkansas State University |
24.5% |
|
University of Tennessee |
23.7% |
|
University of Missouri |
23.2% |
|
New Mexico State University |
22.7% |
|
University of Louisiana-Lafayette |
22.0% |
|
University of Connecticut |
21.5% |
|
Wyoming University |
21.4% |
|
University of Iowa |
21.2% |
|
University of Louisiana-Monroe |
21.1% |
|
Iowa State University |
20.6% |
|
San Diego State University |
20.5% |
|
University of Wisconsin |
19.6% |
|
Troy University |
19.4% |
|
U.S. Military Academy |
19.2% |
|
Eastern Michigan University |
19.2% |
|
University of Southern Mississippi |
19.2% |
|
University of Texas |
18.4% |
|
Texas A&M University |
18.3% |
|
Wake Forest University |
18.1% |
|
Washington State University |
18.0% |
|
Florida State University |
17.9% |
|
Ohio State University |
17.8% |
|
University of Nevada-Las Vegas |
17.5% |
|
Syracuse University |
17.5% |
|
University of Florida |
17.2% |
|
Central Michigan University |
17.0% |
|
Middle Tennessee State University |
16.9% |
|
University of Central Florida |
16.8% |
|
University of Colorado |
16.7% |
|
Arizona State University |
16.6% |
|
University of Houston |
16.5% |
|
Michigan State University |
16.0% |
|
University of Akron |
15.4% |
|
North Carolina State University |
15.4% |
|
University of Miami |
15.3% |
|
Rice University |
15.2% |
|
University of Idaho |
15.1% |
|
Florida International University |
14.9% |
|
Western Michigan University |
14.6% |
|
University of New Mexico |
14.5% |
|
Utah State University |
14.0% |
|
Miami University |
13.9% |
|
University of Maryland |
13.9% |
|
University of Illinois |
13.9% |
|
Bowling Green State University |
13.6% |
|
University of Toledo |
13.4% |
|
University of Arizona |
13.3% |
|
University of Cincinnati |
13.2% |
|
Purdue University |
13.2% |
|
Indiana University |
13.1% |
|
University of Nevada |
13.0% |
|
Kent State University |
12.7% |
|
University of California |
12.7% |
|
University of Hawai?i |
12.5% |
|
San Jose State University |
12.4% |
|
Eastern Carolina University |
12.4% |
|
Florida Atlantic University |
12.3% |
|
University of North Texas |
11.8% |
|
Ohio University |
11.8% |
|
Colorado State University |
11.7% |
|
Ball State University |
11.7% |
|
Northern Illinois University |
11.7% |
|
University of Minnesota |
11.7% |
|
University of South Florida |
11.1% |
|
University of Michigan |
11.1% |
|
Tulane University |
10.6% |
|
University of Pittsburgh |
10.5% |
|
University of Utah |
10.4% |
|
University of North Carolina |
9.8% |
|
Pennsylvania State University |
9.5% |
|
University of Southern California |
9.4% |
|
University of Alabama at Birmingham |
9.3% |
|
Northwestern University |
9.0% |
|
Brigham Young University |
8.9% |
|
Rutgers University |
8.6% |
|
Temple University |
8.0% |
|
Duke University |
7.8% |
|
University at Buffalo |
7.6% |
|
Stanford University |
7.5% |
|
University of Washington |
7.3% |
|
University of California-Los Angeles |
7.1% |
|
Vanderbilt University |
6.4% |