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EMU Athletic Budget
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BCBronco Offline
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EMU Athletic Budget
Nothing new here really, but someday some smaller D1 school will join the GLIAC or similar conference.


Quote:By David Jesse Detroit Free Press

There are no plans to make significant cuts to a $27-million subsidy from Eastern Michigan University’s general fund to its athletic program, Eastern’s Board of Regents chairperson says. But there at least should be a conversation about cuts, another board member said.

“All viable options are on the table,” Regent Jim Stapleton told the Free Press. “All of us believe that there can be no more sacred cows. Despite the presence of at least two high quality (football) coaches since I’ve been here, we’ve had no success. The problems are systematic.”

At issue is how EMU funds its athletic department, a topic of contention for years at the Ypsilanti school. Attendance has lagged at football games. Last season, the department tried selling beer at a game for the first time, in an effort to drive up attendance. But only slightly more than 4,000 people attended the game.

EMU, like all but a few universities in the nation, doesn’t make enough money from athletics to cover its costs. So it sends the department a subsidy from the general fund, which is largely made up of student tuition and state aid. The athletic department spent $33.9 million in the 2014-15 school year, according to data collected by USA TODAY and published earlier this week. Of that amount, more than $27 million, or 80%, came from institutional support. That percentage is the highest in the Mid-American Conference.

That spending came under fire Tuesday evening, as HBO’s “Real Sports” featured Eastern in a segment on athletic department spending.

During the five-minute stretch, Eastern Michigan accounting professor Howard Bunsis, who also is an official in the faculty union, estimated that students pay about $1,000 for athletics through tuition costs.
“We are chasing that money in an athletic arms race we can’t win,” Bunsis said during the segment. “We are throwing money down the drain.”

But while the university is looking carefully at its spending in all areas, there are no plans nor discussions ongoing about cutting that subsidy, board chairman Mike Morris told the Free Press.

Eastern’s administration backed that train of thought in a statement posted to its website: “Participating in Division 1 Athletics is a substantial financial investment — not only at Eastern, but also at every university that offers a Division 1 program. It is an investment we are committed to because of the benefits athletics provides our institution and students. At the same time, the university is committed to an ongoing evaluation of the best possible use of resources in all operating areas, including athletics.”

The statement noted that athletics spending represents less than 8% of the current budget. Athletes make up less than 3% of the student body.


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04-22-2016 09:28 AM
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Ken Barna Offline
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RE: EMU Athletic Budget
Dear BCBronco,
That report on HBO was so slanted and incorrect, that I don't know where to begin to refute. I'll just say this, they did not interview our athletic director, any of the football coaches, our incoming president, or any other faculty members, to get any correct information on budgets, spending, or where the program is going. If, Mr. Bunsis is correct then Eastern would be gaining over twenty-three million dollars a year for the athletic programs. That is not the case.
04-22-2016 10:37 AM
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Charm City Bronco Offline
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RE: EMU Athletic Budget
(04-22-2016 10:37 AM)Ken Barna Wrote:  Dear BCBronco,
That report on HBO was so slanted and incorrect, that I don't know where to begin to refute. I'll just say this, they did not interview our athletic director, any of the football coaches, our incoming president, or any other faculty members, to get any correct information on budgets, spending, or where the program is going. If, Mr. Bunsis is correct then Eastern would be gaining over twenty-three million dollars a year for the athletic programs. That is not the case.

If they piss on your leg and tell you it is raining, do you believe them?
04-22-2016 11:24 AM
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Ken Barna Offline
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RE: EMU Athletic Budget
Dear Charm City Bronco,
If you want to believe hearsay, comments with no basis of fact, innuendo, whatever, that is your privilege. The facts are that it was a white wash pure and simple.
04-22-2016 01:13 PM
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BCBronco Offline
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I love how passionate you are about the Hurons, er Eagles. For the record my name is not on the byline. Finally, even if some of the reporting is a bit fuzzy, the larger issue of supporting the affordability of D1 athletics goes way beyond EMU and will continue to be a topic for some time among schools of our size.
04-22-2016 01:31 PM
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GullLake Offline
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RE: EMU Athletic Budget
(04-22-2016 01:31 PM)BCBronco Wrote:  I love how passionate you are about the Hurons, er Eagles. For the record my name is not on the byline. Finally, even if some of the reporting is a bit fuzzy, the larger issue of supporting the affordability of D1 athletics goes way beyond EMU and will continue to be a topic for some time among schools of our size.

EMU has its troubles, but I view it as the proverbial canary in the coal mine. What is killing EMU now may very well also kill other MAC programs if status quo remains.
04-22-2016 02:54 PM
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Dirty Ernie Offline
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RE: EMU Athletic Budget
(04-22-2016 02:54 PM)GullLake Wrote:  
(04-22-2016 01:31 PM)BCBronco Wrote:  I love how passionate you are about the Hurons, er Eagles. For the record my name is not on the byline. Finally, even if some of the reporting is a bit fuzzy, the larger issue of supporting the affordability of D1 athletics goes way beyond EMU and will continue to be a topic for some time among schools of our size.

EMU has its troubles, but I view it as the proverbial canary in the coal mine. What is killing EMU now may very well also kill other MAC programs if status quo remains.

Compare and contrast with the top upper level programs. Many spend $100 million on football alone. Is that why they are top upper level programs? Chicken or the egg? If more $$$ equals top level results, and results is the goal, then it becomes interesting to contemplate that MAC programs need to spend more money, not less. It costs a little more to go first class.
04-22-2016 07:28 PM
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Dirty Ernie Offline
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RE: EMU Athletic Budget
GBL might comment that even if EMU is the lowest rated D1 program in the country, even they might survive longer than NIU should the State of Illinois close that institution down.
04-22-2016 07:34 PM
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okgc Offline
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RE: EMU Athletic Budget
(04-22-2016 07:28 PM)Dirty Ernie Wrote:  Compare and contrast with the top upper level programs. Many spend $100 million on football alone. Is that why they are top upper level programs? Chicken or the egg? If more $$$ equals top level results, and results is the goal, then it becomes interesting to contemplate that MAC programs need to spend more money, not less. It costs a little more to go first class.

A current test of College spending into hopeful prosperity is Rutgers.
Quote:Rutgers lost $312 million over the past 10 years.
Can they make it as a successful P5 program with B10 money?
(This post was last modified: 04-22-2016 07:39 PM by okgc.)
04-22-2016 07:38 PM
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Dirty Ernie Offline
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RE: EMU Athletic Budget
I'll admit there are many variables that influence success. So maybe money is not the only way. You need some Calculus, a little linear programming.

For quite some time, EMU has had a problem with fan support. In my mind, I'm going, it does not much matter about the money. I can't see a reasonable path to success for them. It seems at the root of it is, nobody cares.

What will they do? What is their goal? How do they fit into MAC football?
04-23-2016 06:18 AM
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