What doesn't make sense is your math. . .
If you are correct. .how do you explain TEXAS expanding it's lead in net revenues?
Out of control? A bit of emotional hyperbole. . . .
Some changes needed? Certainly. . ..but spare us the cliff diving
No, what doesn't make any sense is your lack or reading comprehension. Expenses are the problem. Expenses. Spending. Outflow. If we have less outflow, the inflow from donors that allows the donors to exert influence becomes meaningless. If their influence becomes meaningless, control over the program is not in the hands of donors. We don't need their gifts if we can find d a way to get control over expenses. Texas spends $240,000 per athlete to run its program. OU spends $190,000. Ohio State spends $170,000. If we get control or runaway spending and manage Bellmont's finances in a manner consistent with other major programs we can severely diminish the political influence of donors. If we weren't spending irresponsibly, we would have to act like such money whores and take abuse from donors.
We pulled in $35 mil (more or less) in donations last year. If we had our spending to a level more like other programs, we could refuse $35 million in donor funds, eliminate a number of outside influences and still have our beloved net revenue lead. Stanford manages its program on $103,000 per athlete and has won the Director's Cup twenty years in a row. Why can every other program in the nation manage spending better than UT and why are programs FAR more successful on the field manage their programs on FAR less money?
Edit:
I pulled the 2013 NCAA financial statements for UT, OU and Florida State. The major expenditures for Bellmont were: (In thousands)
Item Texas OU Fla. St.
Student aid 9,350 9,376 9,542
Guarantees 2,206 1,868 2,809
Coach salaries 23,429 20,773 14,501
Support/Admin 30,095 15,635 13,003
Recruiting 1,456 1,445 1,251
Travel 7,215 6,221 5,757
Equip, uniforms 2,671 3,044 3,764
GameDay exp. 22,352 8,255 5,805
Fundraising, mktg 5,401 1,892 1,706
Sports camps 1,592 0
Facilities maint. 24,015 21,055
Spirit groups 1,311 147
Medical expen. 1,683 1,084
Look at the support/administrative budget for Texas. It is $15 million more than OU and $17 mil more than Fla St. Of the $30 million Texas spent, $26.95 million was unallocated to any individual sport. Look at the game day expenses. Texas was at $22.3 million. OU was a $8.3 million. Fla St. was at $5.8 mil. Texas was four and a half times what Fla St spent. Of the $22.3 mil Texas spent, $14.839 mil was unallocated to any one sport. How do you have almost $15 million in game day expenses that can't be traced to any game?! (FYI- Game day expenses are defined as expenses necessary for competition, including officials, security, event staff, ambulance and such)
Of the money Texas spends that glaringly exceeds that of other programs, almost $40 million isn't allocated to any one sport. Just a lot of bloat other programs do just fine without. OU doesn't seem to be suffering on the field. Fla St. won a national championship in football and they both manage their programs with FAR less "unallocated expenses" than does Texas.
Don't tell me Steve Patterson can't find ways to reform Bellmont. If he can't, we need to fire his ass and hire almost any other athletic director in the nation, because no program has such unexplained and outsized spending as does Texas and take note, I'm not even mentioning salaries paid to coaches.
And Whisenant, if you are reading this, look at the fundraising, marketing, promotional budget for Texas and add in the $2 mil in salaries for the staff of 27 in the media group. Texas spends multiples of what most other program spends for a media group.
