UConn bracing for ‘deep cuts’ to sports and academics

[HooperScooper]

Not exactly a surprise.

“There has been continual pressure from the University Senate and by some members of the faculty on the administration to look at athletics and the fiscal working group echoed those sentiments,” Jordan said. “The athletics department is working hard on some strategies that could reduce the subsidy as much as 25 percent.”

UConn bracing for ‘deep cuts’ to sports and academics

UConn is anticipating major cuts to athletic, academic and administrative budgets for the...

www.nhregister.com

 

[CL82]

So it begins...

I hope that any plan:

1) changes the way the school accounts for the cost of scholarships. Charging the full out of state amount isn't an accurate reflection of cost. Virtually no one actually pays that rate; and

2) looks very hard the rental cost of campus facilities owned by the State of Connecticut. We are subsidizing the losses of the CDRA.

 

[upstater]

So it begins...

I hope that any plan:

1) changes the way the school accounts for the cost of scholarships. Charging the full out of state amount isn't an accurate reflection of cost. Virtually no one actually pays that rate; and

2) looks very hard the rental cost of campus facilities owned by the State of Connecticut. We are subsidizing the losses of the CDRA.

On #1, this is how individual units of the university are charged in the head counts, so you'd have to make a special case for Sports being different from other units. The metric is expenditures-per-student. How much the university spends per student. Because tuition is subsidized by university funds, individual units have to account for that. For instance, take Masters students. A large % of them come from out of state. If they pay a certain amount in tuition, the unit doesn't get total credit for what they pay. Instead, the total revenue amount is defrayed by the subsidy.

In NY State, I am hearing that there will be a 25% cut in state funds to SUNY.

This is on top of the losses in foreign student enrollment, which will be enormous, as they are expecting very few foreign students next year.

 

[CL82]

take Masters students. A large % of them come from out of state. If they pay a certain amount in tuition, the unit doesn't get total credit for what they pay. Instead, the total revenue amount is defrayed by the subsidy.

I'm not following this. Say MSRP tuition is $100. The master's student gets a grant of $25 as an incentive to attend so the revenue number associated with him is $75. Are you say that the the unit only gets credit for $50, which would be actual revenue less discount? Because that makes zero sense from an accounting position.

Back to scholarships... I believe that scholarship academic grants are coming out of a single pool so you need to account for how you allocate it, but sports scholarships are not using that money. It is just a discount of tuition to cost. If schools truly use a per student expenditures made analysis the cost should be much less than the nominal (MSRP) tuition.

 

[Dooooooomed]

Unfortunate, but necessary. We sponsor way too many sports for a school not making P5 money.

 

[Bobol]

The below linked story entitled "UConn Football's Shame" is a thoughtful article that raises a number of issues which cannot be denied.

Opinion: UConn football’s shame

A University of Connecticut alumnus bemoans the state of the football program, and the...

www.nhregister.com

 

[the Q]

It could get really ugly without football

Financial toll of coronavirus could cost college football at least $4 billion

As more college athletic departments cut sports programs, the financial wreckage is becoming clear. And it gets even worse if college football doesn't return.

www.espn.com

 

[uconngb]

The football experiment has clearly failed. Let's admit it, and move on. That's a quarter of the deficit right there.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm not following this. Say MSRP tuition is $100. The master's student gets a grant of $25 as an incentive to attend so the revenue number associated with him is $75. Are you say that the the unit only gets credit for $50, which would be actual revenue less discount? Because that makes zero sense from an accounting position.

Back to scholarships... I believe that scholarship academic grants are coming out of a single pool so you need to account for how you allocate it, but sports scholarships are not using that money. It is just a discount of tuition to cost. If schools truly use a per student expenditures made analysis the cost should be much less than the nominal (MSRP) tuition.

I actually don't doubt that Upstater is right about how they account for it. It doesn't make it accurate or meaningful.

I fondly recall Dick Norgaard as my UConn finance 101 professor trolling his wife (who was my managerial accounting professor). He put up a picture of the Empire State Building and said, what is this worth? What would an accountant say it is worth? The answer: nothing. It's fully depreciated. It sits on the books as zero.

I think the same concept is at work here. The actual cost of an athletic scholarship is not full out of state, because you would never replace those students (often minorities and underprivileged) with students paying full freight.

 

[Fatroony5]

The below linked story entitled "UConn Football's Shame" is a thoughtful article that raises a number of issues which cannot be denied.

Opinion: UConn football’s shame

A University of Connecticut alumnus bemoans the state of the football program, and the...

www.nhregister.com

Thanks for posting, I know a lot of people here are big supporters of the football team. Back in the 2000s and early 2010s, it was always a great environment. Tailgates were fun, games were good, team was always decent to good, and the crowds were great. UConn football just hasn’t been able to keep up with the times. I don’t pretend to know everything about why the awful downfall has occurred, but it’s hard to envision how they climb out of it. They’re literally at the bottom. I get the buy games and thought with going independent to try and get to play against big schools/get more money. I’m just not sure it’s enough, hope I’m wrong, but I’m much more of a supporter of basketball than football. No college team in the northeast has really been able to sustain football.

 

[bendm]

We sponsor way too many sports for a school not making P5 money.

way too many? the big east only sponsors 10 men's sports. the only one UConn doesnt play is lacrosse, but they do play football and hockey instead for a total of 11.

i'd get rid of swimming & diving, indoor track, and outdoor track. those 3 sponsored sports are played by the fewest BE schools. swimming- 5. indoor track-7. outdoor track- 7.

 

[dvegas]

i'd get rid of swimming & diving, indoor track, and outdoor track. those 3 sponsored sports are played by the fewest BE schools. swimming- 5. indoor track-7. outdoor track- 7.

Can't drop womens sports teams b/c of football. The teams you cite (track and swim) the men and women basically share facilities and coaches, and are fairly low cost (buses for road trips, minimal equipment costs) I know for mens swimming, there are very few scholorships and I believe most are endowed. Not much savings there

 

[CL82]

So it begins...

I hope that any plan:

1) changes the way the school accounts for the cost of scholarships. Charging the full out of state amount isn't an accurate reflection of cost. Virtually no one actually pays that rate; and

2) looks very hard the rental cost of campus facilities owned by the State of Connecticut. We are subsidizing the losses of the CDRA.

Let me add another
3) cuts administrative costs. UConn’s administrative costs are higher than the administrative costs of the average P5 program. That’s a fairly good indicator of inefficiency.

 

[Caronimo]

The football experiment has clearly failed. Let's admit it, and move on. That's a quarter of the deficit right there.

We are not cutting football. Why do people keep bringing this up?....

 

[Chin Diesel]

Anything UConn has in swimming, track and field, cross country, or golf needs to go first.

As a northeast school these should be the priorities.

Men's and Women's soccer
Field Hockey
Men's and Women's hockey
Baseball
Softball
Men's and Women's basketball
Football
Volleyball

From there start adding sports as able. Sorry, not sorry, but no one thinks of UConn for the sports I listed above.

 

[CL82]

Anything UConn has in swimming, track and field, cross country, or golf needs to go first.

As a northeast school these should be the priorities.

Men's and Women's soccer
Field Hockey
Men's and Women's hockey
Baseball
Softball
Men's and Women's basketball
Football
Volleyball

From there start adding sports as able. Sorry, not sorry, but no one thinks of UConn for the sports I listed above.

I think you have to include hockey on that list for men and women.

 

[huskymedic]

way too many? the big east only sponsors 10 men's sports. the only one UConn doesnt play is lacrosse, but they do play football and hockey instead for a total of 11.

UConn sponsors 22 Varsity sports programs.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I think you have to include hockey on that list for men and women.

I did???

 

[CL82]

I did???

View attachment 54575

 

[Hoophound]

Football, basketball and hockey add a lot to quality of life in CT. CT can’t give up on everything all the time. In the growing states, they don’t quit on stuff. They keep adding and improving. There are problems that need solving in CT. Football isn’t a problem, it is an asset. Fix the issues that are burning money and destroying the state.

 

[Dogdeacon]

I actually don't doubt that Upstater is right about how they account for it. It doesn't make it accurate or meaningful.

I fondly recall Dick Norgaard as my UConn finance 101 professor trolling his wife (who was my managerial accounting professor). He put up a picture of the Empire State Building and said, what is this worth? What would an accountant say it is worth? The answer: nothing. It's fully depreciated. It sits on the books as zero.

I think the same concept is at work here. The actual cost of an athletic scholarship is not full out of state, because you would never replace those students (often minorities and underprivileged) with students paying full freight.

Um, I think Norgaard is way wrong or the story is missing a key nuance. The BASIS in the Empire State building may be depreciated to 0, but unless its debt is 100%, it is on the books for the value (market or appraised) less debt.
It might ultimately be worth close to 0 due to high 70-80's era capital gains taxes paid on the gain upon sale of an asset depreciated to 0, but it is still worth something if value > debt and the tax liability doesn't offset unless and until it is sold.
But I digress, does UConn save money if football is eliminated for just 20-21?
Does UConn football potentially benefit if 2yrs of curtailed travel and schedules re-create a northeastern football conference?
Overall, I'd also think UConn could benefit if colleges are commuter schools for awhile - people are more likely to pay for branch classes, PT, do online college at home going to UConn vs paying 80K to risk flying out and back to Notre Dame.

 

[bendm]

UConn sponsors 22 Varsity sports programs.

i said men's sports not total

 

[huskymedic]

>>“The athletics department is working hard on some strategies that could reduce the subsidy by as much as 25 percent,” he added, referring to the funds that the university allocates to the department.

UConn Athletics said in a statement that the department was reviewing “all potential revenue- and expense-based solutions.”

Jordan that UConn was “not ready to announce any changes” to specific athletic programs or academic departments. He did note that the university’s move to the Big East Conference will mean reduced travel costs, but greater cuts will likely be needed.<<

 

[UConn990411]

We are not cutting football. Why do people keep bringing this up?....

There may come a time when that’s a real decision that needs to be made, but I suspect we’re at least a few years away from that being the case.

 

[huskymedic]

i said men's sports not total

Agreed... my tunnel vision in reading/posting.

 

[uconngb]

We are not cutting football. Why do people keep bringing this up?....

Whether we are or we aren’t.......the correct answer is that we should. It literally does nothing for the athletic program except lose money and create headaches.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Whether we are or we aren’t.......the correct answer is that we should. It literally does nothing for the athletic program except lose money and create headaches.

Cut football, keep tailgating.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Unfortunately, it's time to get down to NCAA minimum for at least men's sports.
Basketball, Football, Baseball, Hockey, Soccer are untouchable. Need 1 more to meet NCAA reqs. Tennis seems the cheapest? Would say XC but it's unlikely to keep XC and cut track.

Women's the untouchables would have to be Basketball, Field Hockey, Softball, Ice Hockey, Soccer, Volleyball, Lax. Need 1 from what remains. Tennis or Rowing, maybe you keep XC and Track as the coaches and athletes would overlap.

 

[JohnFSilver]

You guys have to really look at the hard costs.

scholarship elimination is not an acceptable way to cut. That money is a chargeback.

So, salaries of coaches and administrators are No. 1. This is how the “third coach” of a softball team making 50k part-time gets eliminated. Or, people in the marketing department.

Where is their money to cut? In equipment, travel, non-field coach salaries, coach salaries and administrators. In the AD office, administrative salaries and marketing efforts.

If they eliminate golf, the hard savings are coach salaries, travel and equipment. Scholarships can’t be used to make the cuts. Actually, you are taking away revenue from admissions. So, there is a balance there.

i think this is gonna suck because people will end up losing their job across the university.

 

[hardcorehusky]

So the cut football village idiots come out due to Lincoln Millstein's uninformed article. We have gone through this routine so many times, let may say this one last time- if you are rooting against a program of your "favorite university", then you aren't a fan. If you think cutting football is the answer, you need to understand how athletic departments work.