Good sports: Alumni organizations offset shortages in athletic funding

How much does it cost the University to train the Tigers, put jerseys on their backs and maintain campus pools, fields, tracks and arenas? Only $13.5 million, said athletics director Gary Walters '67.

Walters and his staff run a tight ship when it comes to the athletics budget. Their management method and fund allocation is unique to the University. And the efficiency with which they handle their expenses allows the University to compete in the same arena as schools like the University of Michigan and Stanford University, which invest more than twice as much in their sports programs — around $33 million.

The athletics' staff is known for getting the best bang for Princeton's buck. The University's management of the athletics budget and its annual appraisal of program needs is unique. Walters explained that they follow a "zero-base budgeting" method — not limiting funds given to each program.

"We evaluate the needs of each program at the start of every year," Walters said. "We allocate internal resources based on each need."

The University allocates money for athletics through the general budgeting procedure because, as the trustees wrote in 1994, athletics is an "important contributor to Princeton's broad mission of education and personal growth."

No separate funding pool exists for athletics, but not unexpectedly, the amount designated to athletics far exceeds any other extracurricularactivity on campus, President Tilghman said.

Princeton continues the University-wide vetting process because it is wary of any influence or abuse that could result if it relied on gate receipts, television revenue or other support groups.

But like other athletics programs, Princeton consistently loses money — about $6 million annually, according to recent statistics — despite the ingenuity of Walters' staff.

To offset the loss, the athletics department depends on the millions donated by alumni through various booster organizations behind the majority of varsity teams — like the Friends of Princeton Basketball — to pay for a quarter of the total budget.

"They are meant to support 'frills' or 'extras,'" Tilghman said. "For example the tennis team and men's basketball team went to Europe this summer and the friends groups helped with the expenses for the trips."

However, the University remains uncertain about what role these groups should play in the University's athletics funding. Composed mostly of alumni, they provide the rest of the fund-raising for athletic programs.

Each team takes a trip abroad every four years, providing for an "international cultural experience" in addition to the usual team bonding and training, Walters said. The basketball team, for example, traveled to Spain last summer for seven games and went to Italy six years ago.

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The football team benefited from outside funding when it took a trip to Japan to compete against the Kwansei Gakuin University. The Japanese school funded the trip entirely. Walters wouldn't "venture a guess" at how much these trips cost, but he said that "no one is traveling first class; it's coach all the way."

In addition, friends groups also support salaries for athletic department employees. The varsity strength coach receives about 70 percent of his salary from the basketball and football booster groups.

What kinds of activities the groups support has not been standard, and the University is trying to decide what is appropriate funding. "In the past I think this was not as clear to everyone as it should have been, and we are trying to get it more transparent," Tilghman said.

Though booster groups exist for most sports, their size varies and they do not all contribute the same level of financial support, which has been a cause for concern.

"We have been trying to reduce the impact of this recently by having a common once-a-year solicitation for all friends groups, rather than having them done sport-by-sport," Tilghman said.

Friends groups operate individually, but all of their financial accounts come under the University's control.

In his most recent report to the budgeting committee of the University, Walters contended that facilities like Princeton Stadium, which cost about $45 million to build, are not providing enough benefit to the University. By leveraging the facilities, Walters said the University could take in more money.

"We are facility-rich and people-poor, straining our ability to prepare for and cover events," he wrote.

In comparison to Yale University, Walters argued that Princeton does not employ enough maintenance staff to run additional events if the University should decide to extend the use of its facilities. He also petitioned Princeton to think about increasing athletic programming, using facilities in different ways to increase revenue.

Though the University does not anticipate slashing any of its athletics programs, schools across the nation have also faced budgetary constraints.

Dartmouth College officials suddenly decided this week to cut the 71-year-old varsity swimming and diving program in its entirety, leaving its team members splashing for solutions and explanations.

"One morning we woke up, went to swim practice, and then went to a meeting and had some administrators tell us that they were canceling our sport. I was in disbelief," said Paul Schned, a Dartmouth senior and captain of the men's varsity swim team. "I felt like I was sort of dreaming for the following 48 hours."

Administrators at Dartmouth attributed the cut to budget constraints and an inability to bring the pool up to code for competition, Schned said.

Schned was disturbed that the Dartmouth administration did not consult the students or alumni for feedback or support. He was also confused that Dartmouth, with such a large endowment, would allow a sport to be eliminated.

"Isn't the endowment's purpose to be a big reserve at a time like this?" Schned said. "Dartmouth shouldn't reap benefits when the market goes up and then get severely hurt when it goes down. There has to be a happy medium between there."

Schned said the administration could have found alternatives to cutting an entire program, such as making small cuts across the entire athletics department.

Schned and the team plan to maintain their routines — which include training through the end of their season.

Dartmouth's dramatic move raises questions of how Princeton would deal with budgetary belt-tightening.

Walters said Princeton has been fortunate with University funding and management of the endowment. But he added that anything could happen with market fluctuations. In other words, cutting a team if finances become dismal is not inconceivable.

"I would hope we don't have to cut the team but you never know, but if we got into that condition I doubt that any aspect of University life would be spared a cutback," Walters said.