October 26, 2009

Berkeley Profs: Sports Budgets Trump Students

Posted by Jamilah King at 12:28AM

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There's a reader's poll in this week's SF Gate: Should UC Berkeley stop subsidizing intercollegiate sports?

It's a debate that's gaining more traction these days, only a month after thousands of students, faculty and staff staged walked outs at all eight UC campuses to protest recent budget cuts.

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle reports that a growing contingent of Berkeley academics are criticizing the university for loaning the sports program millions of dollars each year -- and sometimes even forgiving debts -- while the entire University of California system cuts classes, imposes unpaid furloughs and reduces the sizes of its incoming classes.

It's more than just faculty, though. An independent investigation headed by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics is shining a spotlight on what it calls the out of control "arms race" among football programs competing to pay big name coaches major bucks to recruit superstar players.

For example, UC Berkeley's Intercollegiate Department of Athletics is expected to run a deficit of 6.4 billion by next year.

The Chronicle reports,

To make ends meet, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau expects to lend the athletes more than $12 million by the end of next year from a $165 million discretionary fund of interest income, gifts and undesignated bequests, said Cal spokesman Dan Mogulof.

The debate is much bigger than one campus or even one state, as storied college sports programs at schools across the country are finding it harder than ever to justify their budgets.

I'm sure some college coaches like UConn's Jim Calhoun, who rank among the highest paid employees in their states, are giving their naysayers the finger right now.

But it's an intriguing question.

What's more important: A school's ability to build a sports dynasty, or offering quality education to generations of students?

Obviously, I'm biased. But sports are big business, it's been said many times that universities are among the biggest industries out there.

Back in California, the faculty at UC Berkeley is set to debate the issue at next month's Faculty Senate meeting.