Report: University of Cincinnati sports needs millions to compete


The University of Cincinnati's sports program will need up to $11 million in new funding every year to be competitive in the Big East Conference, but it still is running a deficit every year and owes millions of dollars from past overspending.


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A new report also shows that UC's Athletic Department is losing about $3.5 million a year and has amassed a $24 million debt, mainly from a shortfall in construction of the Varsity Village complex on campus.

• Read the All-University Athletics Task Force Report (PDF)

While the success of UC's football team has raised the program's visibility, it has not erased the financial challenges, the report said, noting that the university seems united behind a vision of a sports program that can compete at the highest levels.

"Achieving this vision will be a costly investment during difficult economic times," according to the report, which was written by a task force of administrators not affiliated with the sports department and delivered to UC President Greg Williams this week. "The institution should seek to maintain a balance of priorities as it seeks to appropriately fund athletics."

The report comes at a tumultuous time for UC sports. The football team was unbeaten until losing in the Sugar Bowl New Year's Day and losing coach Brian Kelly to Notre Dame.

Athletic Director Mike Thomas has cut $1.7 million out of its budget last year, including scholarship funding for several men's sports.

UC will start construction soon on a new sports complex along Jefferson Avenue that will include football practice fields, but a potential expansion of Nippert Stadium - and whether UC can afford a project that could cost up to $50 million - looms over the program.

At the same time, UC spends less than any other Big East Conference school on athletic staffing and operating budget, the report said.

The task force, charged last year with recommending ways to fund UC's athletic program in the long term, recommended several ways to create more revenue, including:

Expanding the number of full-price season-ticket holders at Nippert Stadium.

Restructuring scholarships to shift more money to athletics.

Transferring the $24 million debt to the University as a whole.

In a statement, Williams said the recommendations would be part of UC's budget planning for the year that starts July 1.

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