While Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson previously pledged to fill the deficit that surfaced in the athletics department’s operating budget last year, newly elected A.S. Commissioner of Athletics Kari Gohd, the Triton Athletic Council and the UCSD administration have turned to a student fee referendum to decide the fate of intercollegiate sports teams.
The operational budget of the athletics department is roughly $300,000 in debt this year, according to Watson. Although the Student Affairs department plans to cover the current deficit so that the program can continue to function, more revenue is needed for a long-term solution or else it will have to be condensed, Watson said.
“UCSD athletics have been underfunded [from the start],” Watson said. “The hope was that they could contain expenditures and increase gift funding but it is clear that we were too optimistic.”
Since fundraising efforts have thus far proved fruitless, Gohd, TAC and the athletics department are resorting to an old approach — increasing student fees — to pick up the slack in the budget.
The A.S. Council plans to carry out a fee referendum in which students could vote on whether to raise the existing intercollegiate athletics fee.
“The people who work in the athletics department are incredibly stretched and don’t have time to fundraise in addition to doing their jobs,” Gohd said. “If the administration won’t [spend more money], the students have to.”
Turning to students for money has been a common trend, even in other universities, Watson said. While some big-time sports schools rely more on their fan base for revenue, the UCSD athletic sports schools has relied on registration fees and the special ICA fee since its inception. It is up to students to decide what they want to fund, according to Watson.
“[Student fees] are the only secure option to raise funds for a department,” Watson said. “You can’t run a program on the hope for revenue or anticipated gift funding when you haven’t raised [any] to date.”
Although Gohd, TAC, the athletics department and other supporters are optimistic about the outcome of such a vote, some question the legitimacy of charging students to stabilize a debt that they had little to do with.
While raising the athletics fee could be an option, students could also vote to reduce the program, according to Watson.
“Athletics can contribute to the vitality of student life,” Watson said. “Unfortunately, the decision rests with the students. That’s just the way we do it here at UCSD.”
TAC co-Chair Dan Noel said he believes that insufficient funding itself could cause students to vote against the referendum; however, he thinks their perceptions are misguided.
“People are currently unsatisfied but if you look at the enormous success given the current budget, the possibilities are unlimited with a budget comparable to other Division-II schools,” Noel said.
The fee would allow sports teams to compete at a higher level and improve the campus social climate, according to Noel. The department and its athletes are working as hard as they can; students need to take a step forward to match that effort, Noel said.
“If increased school spirit and an improved social atmosphere really mean something to students, the money really isn’t that big of a deal,” Noel said. “What athletics could do for this school is worth the money.”
The student fee referendum is intended for next fall and it could occur in conjunction with the grants-in-aid proposal, which the Academic Senate endorsed as long as students are willing to pay for it.
“The referendum is in the hands of the students and the outcome is in the hands of the students,” Watson said. “Students have been supportive thus far and we’re asking them to strengthen their level of support.”
A program review of the structure of the athletic department budget is currently underway. The results, which will be released this month, should provide more clues about a long-term solution for the budget crisis.
