Arkansas Blog

well max, I think the pay per view thing makes sense, as you cant expect the photographers, sound people or editors. or the cost of bandwith & equipment to be provided for free do you? and just covering the costs would be an economic loss to the program... if you want to know what petrino eats on the plane to media days. you should be willing to pay for it.

Looking at the website, it appears they are using collegesportsdirect.com to provide the video service. Of course, just like with UCA, this is something they could do with existing staff.

A common misconception is that all the coach's salary (in any sport) is funded by the taxpayers. In actuality, the head coach at the UA operates under the same pay guidelines as any other state employee--say Lu Hardin.

The difference here being that the bulk of Petrino's salary is paid by the Razorback Foundation--a private fundraising group--and contracts with equipments suppliers, coach's shows, etc. Of course the other big difference here between BP and Lu is that everything with BP has been of open record. No shennanigans going on there.

I certainly don't mind paying for a few things w/ regard to Razorback athletics. Given the facts that they routinely issue press releases, have open press conferences with athletic department officials, and gernally operate in plain sight I don't mind supplementing their budget voluntarily. Now if I were being taxed to do the same, that would be a different story.

ARK. BLOG: . It is a common misperception that Razorback Foundation money is purely private money. It's not. Much of it is money generated by premium seat sales at public venues on the public's campus. Salaries are approporiated by the legislature with amounts in excess of pay coming from the foundation, but that money is still generated by public activities at the public's facilities through the work of people on the public's payroll. The money doesn't exist without the franchise created by the public university. It is the public's money, even if it is not tax money, no less so than the bookstore receipts and the burger profits at UCA.
UA so far happens to generate enough money through athletics to meet the cost of the athletic department. That's nice. But it doesn't create a private entity.

Perhaps I should have said "funded entirely by taxpayer" dollars.

The UA is the vehicle by which the funds are created, sure. And the initial structure of the stadium was likely funded in part (if not in whole) by the state. Improvements to that facility, though, were funded by private money raised by the RF. One think Frank of the Ozarks did (and still does) about as well as anyone is raise private money.

This is essentially a private/public partnership. My point earlier was that I'm fine with being charged a premium to access services provided to me that cost more than the bare minimum.

Bookstore receipts and burger profits are generated through the voluntary expenditure of disposable income. We choose to buy those items, knowing that money will be spent by the schools. I do not subcribe to the theory that the UA Athl Dept is a private entity, but I do acknowledge that it is largely funded by private funds. No one is forced to buy tickets like we are to pay taxes. I guess that's where I see the distinction and give up my right to be pissy about where they spend the money. If I don't like it I just won't pay for it I guess.