Robert Malekoff Blasts Irresponsible Athletics Spending
November 29, 2012
Faculty member Robert Malekoff has written a column, College Sports: More Wall Street Than Ivory Tower, that was published Nov. 29 by College Sports Business News.
Reckless spending by university athletics departments has prompted schools to switch conferences in pursuit of more money, Robert wrote.
Rutgers and the University of Maryland are leaving the Big East and the ACC, respectively, for the Big Ten. Maryland president Wallace D. Loh has called joining the Big Ten an opportunity to “guarantee the future of Maryland athletics for an entire generation, for 50 years.”
“Apparently his administration never considered responsible spending or even pursuing a more fiscally realistic athletic model,” Robert wrote. “And so what if Maryland and Rutgers athletes will be forced to give up traditional regional rivalries and miss class to travel to places like Iowa City and Minneapolis — there is revenue out there to be had.”
He also pointed out schools that must pay coaches millions after firing them. Auburn recently fired football coach Gene Chizik, but still owes him $7.55 million and his assistants another $3.5 million.
“While some ‘big-time’ conference commissioners build their fiefdoms and make millionaires of those who will follow their lead, academic programs are being slashed, faculty are being cut, and tuition and fees at many schools are rising at a greater percentage than ever before in our history,” Robert wrote.
“The real losers are the 99 percent, often financially challenged students being asked to pay much more for much less.”
