In a traditional setting, schools gather funds to keep their athletics program afloat. In the case of the University of Iowa, its athletics program is more than capable of funding itself. Its revenue is so lucrative that school officials expect athletics to support academics in the near future.
The Sports World Is A Financial Juggernaut
In a recent sit-down with The Daily Iowan, UI president Bruce Harreld said he is looking forward to a more formal passing of money from the school's athletics department to its academic programs. He urged UI athletics director Gary Barta to ponder the merits of the said deal.
"For good or for bad, the sports-world revenue in terms of TV, radio, website, fans, the stadiums is a machine," Harreld asserted. "As those revenues have gone up, I think it's high time that we ask another question - could they actually help deal with those fiscal issues that we've got?"
According to data published in USA Today, the UI athletics department receives $650,000 in annual student subsidies. However, Barta insisted that his department isn't as financially booming as Harreld and others are led to believe. The data did show that UI spent $3.2 million more than what it earned during the 2014-2015 NCAA season.
"We know there will be a deficit," said the athletics director. "That's really a combination of season ticket sales and football ticket sales coming into the year, and then this odd dynamic of having this wonderfully successful season and just paying for all the things that go with having a great season."
Support Will Be There When It Counts The Most
While he's still not convinced with the idea of funding academics, Barta did assure that his department has enough in the tank to cover whatever the school's total deficit is for this year.
"As you know, we are self-sustaining, so we have a reserve," he revealed. "And I'm confident that in 2016-17, we'll begin making back up ground."
Press-Citizen reported that a bill was introduced in the Iowa Legislature earlier this year, which mandates the University of Iowa and the Iowa State University to share their athletics funding with the University of Northern Iowa. Apparently, both schools have had enough money to spare in recent years.
