Athlon rips BG with brutal outlook in 2021preseason mag

[roguewarrior]

I had to stop and ask myself: Do I give a s**t if BG football loses $4 Mil per year (allegedly)? The answer is NO. BG as an institution needs football, and to go play OSU, ND to create the sizzle of being a fun college. Otherwise, they are University of Phoenix. Just enjoy the games, and save the world elsewhere.

[guest44]

Sizzlin’ to 128 out of 130. The moon is near.

[Flipper]

BG loses $4 million on football? I find that hard to believe

[guest44]

https://ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/Rep ... c4EK0Sz-Ek

Here ya go Flipper. Any ideas how Men's Basketball spent 138k in recruiting and 116k on equipment?

[BillyLP]

https://ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/Rep ... c4EK0Sz-Ek

Here ya go Flipper. Any ideas how Men's Basketball spent 138k in recruiting and 116k on equipment?

I think it's important to qualify this with comparisons to other institutions in Ohio. For instance, using the same database shows that Toledo lost $7.1 million (HA!), Cincinnati lost around $7 million, Ohio only lost a few hundred thousand but only because they got $6 million+ in direct institutional support (not entirely sure what this means) and overall, BG athletics looks pretty financially healthy in comparison. It's a lot more complicated than just saying "BG lost $4 million because football."

The one thing I WILL agree with you on is the high number for equipment for MBB. Recruiting expenses I'm fine with as long as it pays off with wins on the court, and it's still about $100k lower than Cincinnati. The equipment is way higher than any other peer institutions. It's not a ton of money in the grand scheme of things, but still curious why it's basically triple what Ohio's is.

[guest44]

Sure it is much more complicated. That doesn't make any of it right.

For context here is a more recent audit. Football lost 3.2 million, The big difference being not paying Mike Jinks, the coach who ruined it, not to ruin it any longer.

Men's Basketball recruiting dropped to 75k or like 80% in '19-'20. What or who changed? I would hope Cincinnati spends more on Men's Basketball recruiting than BGSU. Cincinnati has 33 NCAA Tournament Appearances and 6 Final Fours. Bowling Green....gave Louis Orr a contract extension to lose.


https://ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/Rep ... 0-Wood.pdf

[TommyG]

I know someone who was an associate AD at a different MAC school. They told me back in the late 2000s after they went to a bowl game, the team lost over $450,000 going to the game...that was after the Bowl guarantee was budgeted in....Person didn’t give a specific number for how much they lost overall, but commented that it was significant “and we were good this year.”
MAC football programs can easily lose 3-6 million every year. Most of the numbers are creatively moved around so people don’t see the real cost of FBS football. Particularly the academic side of campus.

[Flipper]

Over $2 million of that loss was scholarship costs...the left hand is in effect paying the right...BG football pays BGSU. You can't say that BG is losing...or as some would say loosing..tht money.

Now...the other sticks out like a sore thumb expense is coaching salaries. You'll gt no argument from me that we pay too much for coaches who are either using this job as a stepping stone to bigger $$$ ( Clawson,Babers) or are going to fail and get axed (Jinks...jury is out on Loeffler, show us SOMETHING this year Scott).

Guest44....You seem to have a gigantic Paul Bunyan sized ax to grind with BGSU sports...particularly when it comes to $$$. What's up with that? And what is your solution? Do you have a solution or are you one of those people that are backbiters...non supporters..people who chew on wet rags.

I love that Dylan quote

So far as losing...or loosing...450k on a bowl game. Cheap price for a 3 hour commercial on a sports network not to mention the fun associated with travel for all the kids involved

[MarkL]

Yes the MAC pays WAY too much for coaches. It did not used to be so. I think Brandon was paid around $200k and that was low but not absurdly low for the MAC. But when Fleck got upped to 800k, the genie left the bottle. That paved the way for Candle to get 1M.

And we are far from blameless. When our former AD paid a career high school coach without an agent the same salary and same contract as the previous coach, a 30+ year college coach with college head coach experience and FBS coordinator experience, we have to point the finger at ourselves. If I were somehow convinced back in 2015 that a career high school coach was the right successor, I would have paid him $150k base. Which is minuscule compared to other coaches, granted, but is appropriate for experience level. Then have a huge pot for assistant salary and huge room for performance bonuses. But no, we kept up with the Jones's and sank our future.

[guest44]

No axe to grind, but BGSU did call again last night asking for $$$$. Next month the 2021 proposed budget comes out. How much will Recreation & Wellness director Moose raid the Recreation & Wellness funds for students to help athletics? Also, will BGSU raise the student fees to an unprecedented 14 million post pandemic?

[jpfalcon09]

Yes the MAC pays WAY too much for coaches. It did not used to be so. I think Brandon was paid around $200k and that was low but not absurdly low for the MAC. But when Fleck got upped to 800k, the genie left the bottle. That paved the way for Candle to get 1M.

And we are far from blameless. When our former AD paid a career high school coach without an agent the same salary and same contract as the previous coach, a 30+ year college coach with college head coach experience and FBS coordinator experience, we have to point the finger at ourselves. If I were somehow convinced back in 2015 that a career high school coach was the right successor, I would have paid him $150k base. Which is minuscule compared to other coaches, granted, but is appropriate for experience level. Then have a huge pot for assistant salary and huge room for performance bonuses. But no, we kept up with the Jones's and sank our future.

Unfortunately it's the price you pay for competing at the FBS level. Agree on Jinks, still believe there was something behind the scenes going on with Kingston. Too convenient he bolts for a job with Learfield in Texas of all places after the Jinks hire. Now that we're a few years removed from him, it's really awful how he sold BG football out.

There's always an annual discussion on here about financials and football, and there's going to come a time for most MAC programs where it's simply not going to make sense any longer to keep supporting their respective programs.

[Flipper]

No axe to grind, but BGSU did call again last night asking for $$$$. Next month the 2021 proposed budget comes out. How much will Recreation & Wellness director Moose raid the Recreation & Wellness funds for students to help athletics? Also, will BGSU raise the student fees to an unprecedented 14 million post pandemic?

This what I'm talking about...you rip on the current AD for financial decisions...particularly with respect to student fees...but you don't offer any alternative. Yeah..it sucks that students are forced to support athletic programs they have repeatedly demonstrated zero interest in...but what's the alternative? Dropping sports...dropping down to D3?

[guest44]

Raise student fees. Put the AD in charge of other departments who receive student fee money. Re-allocate those funds to athletics to correct department mismanagement of funds. Blame Covid.

[Schadenfreude]

No axe to grind, but BGSU did call again last night asking for $$$$. Next month the 2021 proposed budget comes out. How much will Recreation & Wellness director Moose raid the Recreation & Wellness funds for students to help athletics? Also, will BGSU raise the student fees to an unprecedented 14 million post pandemic?

This what I'm talking about...you rip on the current AD for financial decisions...particularly with respect to student fees...but you don't offer any alternative. Yeah..it sucks that students are forced to support athletic programs they have repeatedly demonstrated zero interest in...but what's the alternative? Dropping sports...dropping down to D3?

You answered your own question. guest44 has made it clear he wants Bowling Green to leave the MAC and join Division II or maybe even Division III. That's his agenda.

let’s talk to Findlay & Defiance College about how they do it,

[roguewarrior]

Ha! Findlay and Defiance.... just saying it out loud is funny.