Last Wednesday’s A.S. Council meeting drew the largest crowd of the year. Ornamented in blue and gold, these audience members, several with prepared speeches in hand, were UCSD Triton athletes who came to rally around one cause — the need for students to address the standing of campus intercollegiate athletics through an undergraduate vote next quarter.
John Muir College senior and Triton Athletes Council Chair Dan Noel (podium) spoke on behalf of intercollegiate athletes at last week’s A.S. Council meeting, saying, “What stands behind me is not a threat. This is passion. This is the belief that this campus can be something greater than what it is now.””
The vote would ask students whether or not they would shoulder an additional $78 per quarter, on top of the existing $31.80 that they currently pay in ICA activity fees, to support the advancement of the athletics department and provide athletic scholarships for the first time in the university’s 46-year history.
An NCAA mandate that went into effect last fall, which required all Division-II programs to provide at least $250,000 in athletic aid, spawned Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson’s grants-in-aid proposal, which would provide $500 to each of UCSD’s 600 athletes. Watson’s plan was meant to meet the requisite while staying consistent with the university’s principles against favoring athletic ability.
Compounding the financial burdens in providing scholarships was a $300,000 operating budget deficit that surfaced in the athletics department during the 2004-05 academic year.
After two years of debate, the Academic Senate Council approved the scholarship proposal and additional funding for the department under one condition — that students vote to foot the bill.
“The stand that [the faculty] will always take is protecting the integrity of the academic mission,”” Academic Senate Council Chair Henry C. Powell said.
While admitting that the fee increase is hefty, athletes at the meeting called the referendum “history in the making.”” They specifically commended its potential to show administrators how students feel about intercollegiate athletics on campus. Players from every ICA team wrote letters to A.S. Council senators, voicing their perspective on the department’s potential and their personal accounts of being a student-athlete at UCSD.
Eleanor Roosevelt College senior and crew team member Joe Gram was the first athlete to take the floor at the meeting, and addressed the council with a “philosophical”” question.
“What role does athletics play at UCSD?”” Gram said. “In refusing to support the athletics department, the administration has already answered that question … now, it’s our turn.””
Although students already supply $2.6 million of the department’s $3.8 million budget, the campus provides nothing in direct institutional support, according to a new report released by former NCAA President Cedric Dempsey. That’s simply the determined funding method at UCSD, Watson said.
“[Getting financial support from the administration] is not fighting against an uphill battle — that’s fighting against a wall,”” John Muir College senior and Triton Athletes Council Chair Dan Noel said. “We’re looking at the students because we need their help.””
The $78 figure was formulated from an audit assessing the needs and expenses of the athletics department. Among other striking discoveries found in Dempsey’s report, the UCSD athletics department is underfunded by more than $1 million for the size and caliber of the program. UCSD’s program has 23 teams compared to the Division-II average of 13.
Despite the campus’ broad-based philosophy, a failure to garner more funds would mean the immediate cut of as many as 13 teams next fall, according to Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards. Not providing athletic aid could also make UCSD ineligible to compete in Division-II championships, he said.
The largest challenge, however, is funding the general operation of the program, according to Edwards, which currently lacks basic funding for transportation, insurance, equipment and conference costs. Athletes contribute approximately $500 each just to participate and many teams resort to janitorial work, such as sweeping floors and scrubbing courts, simply to play enough teams to be eligible for championships.
“We could have a perfect season and not necessarily go to nationals,”” Noel said. “We want to compete at the highest level and without adequate funding, we’re just not able to do that.””
A large portion of funds would also go to proper coaching salaries, which are currently around $15,000 less per year than some of UCSD’s Division-II counterparts. Better pay will help coaches to focus exclusively on their respective sports, Noel said.
While the A.S. Council expressed unanimous support for having the referendum, “bureaucracy”” and “red tape”” hindered the issue, according to some athletes.
The first area of conflict centered on separating the scholarship proposal and financial support for the department into two separate votes, an example of the A.S. Council “missing the point,”” according to Gram.
“By splitting this up, you guys are just buying in to [the] same exact wishy-washy semi-support [as the administration],”” Gram said. “Do you support athletics here at UCSD or not? If you do, then this all goes as one. If not, let’s go down in a huge flame but let’s give it its fair shot.””
Despite pleading from athletes to approve the referendum that night, the council decided to postpone its final vote until 10th week in order to add a “shared governance”” provision that would grant students some direct oversight of university facilities.
While athletes support student control, they voiced concern about the department’s need getting lost in an A.S. battle for student control.
“If the council [passes] the vote to place the referendum on the ballot at their next meeting, they will have demonstrated that they are still committed to the cause of athletics,”” he said.
Readers can contact Serena Renner at [email protected].