Loading Poll...A Rutgers Compact
Dr. Michael P. Riccards is Executive Director of the Hall Institute of Public Policy – New Jersey. Riccards is a former college president and a presidential scholar who has authored 15 books.
The abrupt resignation of Rutgers’ football coach, Greg Schiano, has re-opened some old debates at the University on the drain of intercollegiate athletics on the budget, especially in austere times. The coach was provided with all sorts of benefits on top of his high salary, including an $800,000 interest free mortgage. He insisted on expanding the college stadium even though its seats were rarely filled. Why the team could not use the Meadowlands stadium is a mystery. Now, after all this expense and long term bonding obligations, the University officials had to settle for a long standing assistant of Schiano’s. Despite the hype, Schiano had a fifty percent winning record, by the way.
But to large elements of the faculty, especially in the New Brunswick collection of the college of arts and sciences, the time has come to resurrect their opposition to high athletics fees and University support. Despite the supposed popularity of intercollegiate athletics, across the nation even at Division I schools athletics are financially losing proposition. It is rare that athletics, such as at Notre Dame, generate a surplus. Even then, except for football and men’s basketball, most of the other sports do not operate with a balanced budget.
At Rutgers, the athletics department spent more than $28.7 million than it generated in revenues. Of that deficit, $19.4 million came from general funds (usually state and tuition money), and $9.3 came from mandatory student fees. Rutgers has one of the ten highest operating losses in the nation. The faculty is demanding that students have to approve by referendum such a contribution, and that operational subsidies by the University be cut. Rutgers also has one of the highest faculty salary schedules, paid largely by student tuition. Perhaps the students should vote on those faculty salary levels as well. By the way, why does Rutgers New Brunswick need 910 full time liberal arts faculty in the first place? And why are Rutgers Newark and Camden comparatively poorly funded.
The athletics budget needs to be cut. Everybody but some of the coaches and a few alumni agree. But there should be a compact that faculty members at Rutgers, many of whom teach 3 to 6 hours a week, be required to each a minimum of 9 hours, and that the number of teaching assistants, especially in the sciences, mathematics and computer science be cut down. The final goal would be a fine teaching faculty who care about students at a first rate academic institution which can cut tuition 10% in two years.
# # #