Athletics spending is irresponsible

[swinger5]

I know this has to do more with athletics than football, but this forum has a little more traffic. Opinion by Matt Clark that was in the BGNews opinion section today. What are your thoughts?


Your local Department of Intercollegiate Athletics doesn't give a damn about you and anybody who supports its wasteful spending doesn't care about you either. If they do, they must have a pretty twisted version of "caring."

Every year, these departments bill students millions of dollars in order to operate. What do the students get? Well, they certainly don't get their money back! They're lucky if they get admission to games most of them don't care to attend.

The center for Economic and Policy Research claims the average college graduate is more than $15,000 in debt, but we all know for most of you it will be more like $40,000.

At BG, more than $2,000 of the debt will give a paltry 430 students the chance to compete in 18 varsity sports at a whopping cost of more than $30,000 per athlete. Meanwhile, your debt will leave you scrambling for years to find money for a marriage, a new home or to put food in your children's mouths.

Figures do not lie: those who support overspending on athletics are robbing this country's future leaders of their livelihood.

Now you can write to the BG News all day with your silly, unsupported rants on how this wasteful spending somehow convinces students to go to college, brings money into the education budget or in some magical way returns the more than $2,000 - the cost of an entire semester's tuition at some community colleges - but you are wrong and selfish.

Let's be realistic here: I'm not in favor of eliminating intercollegiate athletics. I've been to the games, I high-fived the mascot, I've cheered my team to victory and felt inspired by my fellow students' accomplishments on the field.

But didn't I do all of those things in high school, too? Funny, I don't remember paying $2,000 to get admission to my high school's sporting events.

Most high schools don't even spend $1 million on athletics, but big colleges like our own find some way to spend more than $13 million!

The freshmen convocation this year could not have demonstrated more clearly how wasteful this spending is. Nearly half of the event saw the football team encouraging students to attend their games, which, from what I've heard, is because the students don't really care to attend. Oh well, we'll bill you anyway.

During this convocation the freshmen were not exposed to our internationally award-winning student groups such as the BG News or the Forensics and Debate Team, no. Those are not important. Athletics are.

In some instances, even the athletes themselves aren't in support of wasteful athletics spending, after all athletes are robbed of their BG experience.

They don't get as much interaction with other students and fail to learn from the diversity on this campus. How often does a student athlete get a chance to hold a major leadership position in a student organization?

I mean, how could they? They have practice nearly all year, they have games, they have other events, they have study sessions they are required to attend, and they already have their own student group - their team. All the while being told they determine how good or bad this university is.

Some are only in it for the scholarships that other students foot the bill for each semester. If only they knew the benefits of being a normal student.

I will confess the administrators who support athletics programs' wasteful spending are not the only ones to blame. They're just the ones who should know better. But they don't realize what they are doing is bad for students, because the real problem here is the students who don't speak up.

You, the average student, are the reason this situation exists. It's not about these officials not caring about you. It's about you not caring about yourself.

You don't care enough to be the one student who stands up and unites thousands, even millions of students on this issue. You don't even care enough to look up how much you pay towards athletics each semester. What will this world be like if you continue to be apathetic on issues like this?

Send comments to Matt Clark at [email protected].

It's also in the BGNews Opinion section online.

[MACMAN]

and thats why P(*&^#@ dont play competive sports and enjoying attending college on an educational scholarship.


candy ass

[bg8492]

Blibber-blabber.

[mmisbg]

Ironic how I have always heard that the most wasteful spending the university does goes to the BGNews.

Go Falcons!

[hammb]

That's an argument that has been made for years. Anyone who thinks athletics are wasted money has no idea how much athletics bring to the university in terms of exposure and future enrollment. He mentions that his opponents in the debate would say that, but he just brushes it off as though it isn't the case. I know that it's pretty hard to quantify, but transfer2bgsu can tell you how much enrollment has been helped with the added exposure our football team has created the past 5-6 years.

I was playing poker online the other day with a guy from Georgia who was all excited about Georgia Tech football starting soon. I said something about BG, and he knew who we were, and where we were located, and that we had a prolific offense. People in Georgia likely would not know of BG if not for athletics.

Hell take it to a higher level of athletics, how many across the country would know of Ohio State if not for athletics? How many of us would know a damn thing about UCLA or Texas if not for athletics?

I really don't think it can be overstated how much recognition and name value are brought to a university from the athletic programs.

On top of that I really think that athletics help build a university community & culture among the students. At the biggest athletic institutions home games are a ritual. Even at BG, however, I always had my same group of friends attending every game and sitting in the same seats for every game to cheer on our team.

The university is first & foremost a place of higher education, but it is also a community of students. Athletics are a vital part of that community and help one grow to identify with their school, and after they graduate with their alma mater. Athletics also help bring alumni back for donations later in life. Would Bob Sebo donate as much to the university if not for the athletic programs? I know a big portion of that donation went directly into athletics, but perhaps he doesn't make any donation at all if not for athletics to inspire him to do so?

On the surface athletics look like wasted money, but when you really think about all they can do for a university they are most certainly not a waste, IMO.

[transfer2BGSU]

...but transfer2bgsu can tell you how much enrollment has been helped with the added exposure our football team has created the past 5-6 years.

The exposure we got just from ESPN College Gameday being on-campus was enormous. We could not afford to buy advertising for the amount of exposure we got just for that 90 minutes. Think of it - every time they came back from commercial break, they said what? "Coming to you live from Bowling Green State University" And then as they cut in to the evening games and did the Sportscenter wrap-ups. We just can't buy that type of exposure.

We have been very lucky with the publicity our football team has brought to the university. Athletics is one of many important cogs of this university that have helped us to see a rise in enrollment in a time where many institutions are struggling to maintain enrollment.

[1987alum]

This is classic, weak-kneed opinion writing. Take an easy-to-defend stance and dismiss any possible objection by minimizing the legitimacy of its foundation.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

and thats why P(*&^#@ dont play competive sports and enjoying attending college on an educational scholarship.

This statement is "gay as hell".

It's possible to attend college on academic scholarship and play and love competitive sports -- all while not being a puss or a candy-ass.

[It's the Journey...]

So if you disagree with his opinions counter his arguement and send it to him. Unlike a few people on here to like to remain totally anonomis (sp?) he provides his name and e-mail address. I know Matt, and he is a good kid with a level head on his shoulders. Give him a good arguement and he will not dismiss it immediatly because it conflicts with his own. He and I have talk about this topic in depth over the past 4 years or so. I am sure he would love to read another view.

[hammb]

This is classic writing right here:

Now you can write to the BG News all day with your silly, unsupported rants on how this wasteful spending somehow convinces students to go to college, brings money into the education budget or in some magical way returns the more than $2,000 - the cost of an entire semester's tuition at some community colleges - but you are wrong and selfish.

Dude needs to retake English 112, I'm thinking. How do you refute the point of your opposition? Don't make counterpoints, or provide facts! Why waste the time with such tired old styles when you can simply declare somebody wrong, and at the same time attack them for being selfish!?!? WTF!

[Jacobs4Heisman]

So if you disagree with his opinions counter his arguement and send it to him. Unlike a few people on here to like to remain totally anonomis (sp?) he provides his name and e-mail address. I know Matt, and he is a good kid with a level head on his shoulders. Give him a good arguement and he will not dismiss it immediatly because it conflicts with his own. He and I have talk about this topic in depth over the past 4 years or so. I am sure he would love to read another view.

I could tell he's open to my potential letter when he described it as silly and unsupported, and then called me wrong and selfish. What a great way to encourage discussion.

[1987alum]

So if you disagree with his opinions counter his arguement and send it to him. Unlike a few people on here to like to remain totally anonomis (sp?) he provides his name and e-mail address. I know Matt, and he is a good kid with a level head on his shoulders. Give him a good arguement and he will not dismiss it immediatly because it conflicts with his own. He and I have talk about this topic in depth over the past 4 years or so. I am sure he would love to read another view.

I could tell he's open to my potential letter when he described it as silly and unsupported, and then called me wrong and selfish. What a great way to encourage discussion.

Journey - Seriously. He obviously doesn't want to encourage dialogue here.

[Warthog]

If I undersatnd the point of his argument, he thinks the Athletic Department is wasting money. YET, I did not see one example of where this waste is occurring. No $15,000 hammers, $6,000 toilet seats, $2,000 softball bats, etc. I'll listen to his view and refutes his facts as soon as he supplies some. Yes, he may consider it expensive that $2,000 of his tuition goes to athletics, but that doesn't mean it is being wasted.

[bg8492]

"But didn't I do all of those things in high school, too? Funny, I don't
remember paying $2,000 to get admission to my high school's sporting events."

Of course he doesn't remember. His parents paid it in the form of property taxes. Whether or not you have kids in schools, you pay taxes that fund the schools that fund athletic programs. For you see, if a high school does not offer athletics, many students will not attend and families will not move into your school district. See a correlation? Same is true for universities.

[It's the Journey...]

So if you disagree with his opinions counter his arguement and send it to him. Unlike a few people on here to like to remain totally anonomis (sp?) he provides his name and e-mail address. I know Matt, and he is a good kid with a level head on his shoulders. Give him a good arguement and he will not dismiss it immediatly because it conflicts with his own. He and I have talk about this topic in depth over the past 4 years or so. I am sure he would love to read another view.

I could tell he's open to my potential letter when he described it as silly and unsupported, and then called me wrong and selfish. What a great way to encourage discussion.

Journey - Seriously. He obviously doesn't want to encourage dialogue here.

Because you know him and have sat down and talked to him, thats how you know right????? Not even trying makes you all just as hard headed as you precieve him to be.