LITTLE ROCK — Athletic expenses at the state’s colleges and universities increased about $4.4 million last fiscal year to $105 million, a deputy director of the state Department of Higher Education said Friday.
These expenses represent about 4 percent of the operating budgets of the institutions if the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is excluded, said Stanley Williams of the department.
“When you have athletic programs and you are not in the Southeast[ern] Conference particularly or in the Bowl Championship Series, you have a struggle to fund athletics and basically there is a very small percentage of the income that is represented by athleticallygenerated income,” he told the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee.
Athletic expenses reported by the state’s four-year universities totaled $104.7 million, including $59.7 million at UAFayetteville, state Department of Higher Education director Jim Purcell said in a letter and accompanying report to the committee.
Those reported by two-year colleges totaled $285,158 in the fiscal year that ended June 30. North Arkansas College in Harrison is the only two-year college that reported athletic expenses last fiscal year, according to report.
UA-Fayetteville’s athletic revenues of $60.1 million included $27.4 million in ticket sales, $14.7 million from media, tournament and bowl receipts, $8.8 million from “other income,” $5.2 million from foundation, clubs and other private gifts, and $3.4 million from concession and program sales, the report said.
The institution’s athletic expenses of $59.7 million included $15.1 million for employee salaries, $9.3 million for maintenance and operations, $7 million for debt service, $6.7 million for facilities and $3.7 million for employee fringe benefits, the report said.
UA-Fayetteville doesn’t collect student athletic fees or transfer unrestricted general and educational funds, which include state and tuition revenue, to athletics, the report said.
Nine universities collected $17.3 million last fiscal year in student athletic fees, the report said. They were $3.7 million at the University of Central Arkansas of Conway, $3.3 million at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, $2.7 million at Arkansas State University at Jonesboro, $1.9 million at Arkansas Tech University, $1.6 million at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, $1.3 million at the University of Arkansas at PineBluff, $1 million at Henderson State University, $823,680 at Southern Arkansas University, and $585,784 at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, the report said.
Eight universities reported transfers totaling $8.1 million from general and educational funds to athletics last fiscal year, the report said. These transfers were $1.1 million each at ASU, UCA, UALR, Arkansas Tech, and Southern Arkansas University, $1.07 million at UAPB, $840,654 at Henderson State University and $650,0000 at the UA-Monticello, the report said.
North Arkansas College financed its athletic program with the help of a $145,678 transfer from general and education funds and $127,175 in “other auxiliary profits,” the report said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 14 on 11/14/2009