Arkansas Blog

It's time for the universities to take back the ath-uh-letic programs, or at the very least do some profit sharing.

Does the athletic department turn a profit overall? Obviously the men's football and basketball covers their own plus subsidizes most of the rest.

Over 1/3 of total budget for sports is embarrassing but if self supporting it is slightly below immoral.

Why is this anything to brag about? See, the Razorback teams are the only professional sports teams in Arkansas. Supporting the Razorbacks is like being in a club in this state. I am sure that there are many 'Hawg' fans in this state who tithe more of their yearly income to the UA athletic program than they do to their own church.

This data needs context. The total budget of a university is somewhat proportional to the size of the student body. It's not exactly proportional, but the broad strokes of the picture are consistent. I suspect that UA is by far the smallest state institution in the SEC, yet they seek to have an athletic program on a par with the other massive state universities. That's why the number looks so bad. I'm not defending this in any way, but that's the explanation. It's tragic that we as a country spend so much money on sports when there are so many more important needs in our society. We're entertaining ourselves to oblivion.

Sports is sheer escapism. Violence and sex. Academics is mundane. Rome's leaders discovered this long ago.

Athletic departments are out of control. When athletic programs are not profitable, they are subsidized by the universities. When they make a profit, the profits are retained by the athletic departments. While some big schools are cutting nursing programs when there is a nursing shortage, their athletic departments are making millions. The University of South Carolina has reached an agreement with their athletic programs to "donate" about 1 million a year to the school.

Severus, that reminds me of some years back when the UA library was under fire, about to lose its accreditation because it was so short on volumes. What did Frank Broyles, the white-haired devil do? Why, he went out and raised $2.5 million to buy books which helped save the library's accreditation. Are you listening, Jeff Long?

>>What did Frank Broyles, the white-haired devil do? Why, he went out and raised $2.5 million to buy books which helped save the library's accreditation. Are you listening, Jeff Long?<<

While hundreds of millions was poured into athletics. If the UA system can generate the money from sports let the UA administration take charge of it and use it to benefit the entire university system.

We have enough fiefdoms in this state and in this nation.

My hat is off to Severus for noting that entertainers-athletes are more worthwhile than nurses and other health care professionals we so desperately need. Next time you're hospitalized and your pulse oxygen alarm is going off just relax knowing that your team had 21 reserve players for the same cost that 100 nurses could have been trained and graduated. Or just call your friendly coach and ask for a nursing fundraiser. Meanwhile your highly trained nurse is looking after the other 9 patients s/he has been assigned due to the shortage.

A great priority shift needs to happen.

What? Supposedly those athletic departments bring IN money, they don't cost money. That's the argument I have heard time and time again for why so much emphasis is put on sports. So, they were WRONG and it's costing money? Whodathunkit.

So, can we just drop those athletic departments and actually go for TEACHING something?