The Student Senate invited President John L. Crain to their meeting on the evening of Monday, Oct. 10 to discuss the student athletics fee, which was a major portion of the self assessed fee referendum that passed last semester.
The referendum was passed during the Student Government Association (SGA) elections held last March. The total fee amounts to $75.25, $50 of which went directly to help fund the department of Athletics.
According to SGA President Luke Holloway, the purpose of this discussion or forum, was to clear the air of questions concerning how that money is being spent and how it benefits students. Holloway believes it did just that.
“The discussion was of the budgetary issues regarding the fees,” said Holloway. “The Athletic Forum’s, and other forums hosted by the SGA, goals are oriented on the idea of educating students on key issues that help promote the university and our student body. I believe with the help of Dr. Crain and the students in attendance we were able to accomplish that.”
Crain’s presentation to the Senate gave a basic rundown of how athletics is funded, how it is utilizing the fees and what students are getting out of paying the fee.
According to Crain, Southeastern Athletics receives funding from three sources: self-generated revenue, such as tickets and sponsorships; transfers from the university’s general fund, which acts as a kind of reserve to distribute funds where needed; and the new student fees.
“When money is budgeted to athletics, it’s generally a mix of these three sources,” said Crain. “Before the fee passed last semester, we were one of two schools in our system that did not have a student athletic fee. I believe the other was Grambling.”
Before the fee, athletics was heavily dependent on it’s own revenue and transfers from the general fund. During 2008 and 2009, athletics received 72 percent of it’s funding from the general fund, while other universities part of the University of Louisiana System averaged around 35-60 percent. Basically, the fee was created to alleviate the pressure on the university’s budget by freeing up these general funds.
Crain also pointed out that the policies of the Board of Regents, which oversees all higher education in Louisiana, caps the amount of money that a school can budget to its athletics. The size of the cap is relative to the size of the university and its budget. For the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the cap at Southeastern is set for $5.4 million. With reduced transfers from the general fund and the fees, athletics is now receiving about $5 million from the campus budget.
Crain then explained how the funds from the fee were distributed across the department. Of the approximate $1.5 million generated by the fee, over $150,000 is dedicated to student engagement, i.e., free admission to games. The remaining portion covers the operating costs of the department.
“When tuition goes up, so does the cost of athletic scholarships,” said Crain. “They received about $220,000. One cost that you may not think about is the funds for benefits and salaries for athletics staff, which was increased by about $150,000 because of the fee.”
Crain also said that team travel, recruitment travel and athlete insurance each received about $100,000 from the fee. Crain explained that these increases would have occurred, even without the fee, to cover necessary costs. However, this would force major reductions on other areas of athletics and other departments in order to pay for these essentials.
A student committee is required to review the referendum every three years to gauge it effectiveness and whether or not its effects satisfy the student body.
“I’m sure there is no contingent that says athletics has to produce wins to receive the fee,” said Crain. “But it’s different with sports. They have their up and down seasons and there are other factors to consider. I would think that for any of these self-assessed fees, their effectiveness and returns to the students should be considered. It is just common sense that student satisfaction would work its way into the decision to support these fees, and I think that’s how it should be.”