2019 College Football Chatter

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skidadl

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[h=1]How Texas Tech, Houston show the financial gap between haves, have-nots could be getting wider[/h] [h=2]This Story is About...[/h]
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Brad Tollefson/AP

Texas Tech fans yell as Kansas' David McCormack shoots a free throw during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Brad Tollefson)By Ben Baby, Staff Writer Contact Ben Babyon Twitter:@Ben_Baby
One of Texas Tech's most significant athletics accomplishments in January didn't happen on the court or on a field.

It happened on a spreadsheet. When Tech athletics submitted its annual financial filing to the NCAA, it reported a drop of $2.5 million in university funding it received. And in the process, the percentage of university dollars Tech used on athletics dwindled closer to zero.

That wasn't the case across the state. According to financial reports obtained through open records requests, the financial gap widened between in-state public athletic departments during the 2017-18 school year.

While the state's three public schools in "power five" conferences -- Tech, Texas and Texas A&M -- are mostly self-sufficient, more than half of the operating revenue for the five public "group of five" schools comes from university funding.

Of Tech's $89.3 million in reported revenue, only $3.3 million -- 3.74 percent -- came from student fees and institutional support. And the decreased subsidy wasn't by accident.

"We did make a concerted effort going into (2017-18) and we wanted to be able to state that exact fact, that we stand on our own two feet in that regard," said Jonathan Botros, Tech's athletic chief financial officer.

A&M and Texas each reported more than $210 million in operating revenue. Neither school receives university money for the athletic department. In 2016-17, they were two of the 14 schools in USA Today's NCAA financial survey that took no subsidy money.

According to Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt, the reason Tech went from being 6.53 percent subsidized the previous year to what it reported in January largely stems from the success of its men's basketball program.

In Chris Beard's second season in Lubbock, the Red Raiders reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. In addition to Tech's baseball success, the athletic department has surpassed its budgeted ticket revenue, Hocutt said.

And the financial success comes during a period when the football program struggled to the point that coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired at the end of the 2018 season.

"With the same level of success in football that our other athletic programs are achieving, there's limitless opportunity for us to grow our revenue side in football as well," Hocutt said.

Houston is at the other end of the spectrum. After Tom Herman left his post as the Cougars' football coach to take the same job at Texas, the team lost 11 of its next 26 games.

That made a significant impact on the athletic department's finances.

In 2017-18, Houston reported a $5.8 million drop in football revenue, according to its NCAA filing. In contrast, the Cougars saw a $4.8 million increase in money the university gave to athletics through direct transfers, bringing the total to $22.4 million.

That money, combined with $8.8 million from student fees, makes up 56.5 percent of Houston's total revenue, which put it with the rest of the state's "group of five" schools that were mostly subsidized. Houston athletic director Chris Pezman declined to comment for this story.

The financial shifts at Houston and Tech underscored the gap between the state's public Football Bowl Subdivision schools. The "power five" schools receive less than four percent of their revenue from fees, while the "group of five" programs are subsidized between 56 and 71 percent.

Jordan Robert Bass, a professor and director of the sport management program at the University of Kansas, said athletic departments in that tier typically lack the revenue from donations, ticket sales and other key areas that "power five" universities enjoy. That places great importance on money from students, especially at a time when athletic spending is increasing across the country.

"For these 'group of five' schools, if they stopped relying on them, that would be a big, big loss for them," Bass said. "They don't really have a choice if they want to keep trying to compete."

Tech recently raised its student athletic fee up to $59.20, Botros said, the first increase in seven years. He said the money will go directly to improving the in-game experience.

It will also cover the admission cost to every Tech sporting event, which a recent survey showed can cost between $850 and $1,300. Tech received just over $13,500 in direct institutional support to pay salaries for a student work program.

More and more schools could be battling to find ways to be self-sufficient in the future. Bass said in the last decade, student bodies across the country are voting against increases in student fees in greater frequency, even though they wouldn't go into effect after many who voted graduated.

"I think you're seeing a bigger awareness from college students of the student fees that they're paying to athletics," Bass said.

Hocutt said one of his primary goals over the next few years is increasing revenue without relying on money outside of the athletic department. Tech recently broke ground on a $29.5 million basketball practice facility and a standalone sports nutrition center. Both projects will be fully funded by athletics.

But even though the Red Raiders are in an improved financial situation, they still have their share of unique challenges Hocutt embraces.

"We don't have the same the budget Texas and Texas A&M do," Hocutt said. "But at the same time, we have the expectations that we're going to line up across the line from them in competition and win. And there's a sense of pride that comes from that with Red Raiders across the country." [h=2]Unequal funding[/h]
The financial gap between the state's three public "power five" schools and five "group of five" schools widened in 2017-18. A look at the funding levels:
 

jsmith6919

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:lol
 

Cotton

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:lol

National. Treasure.
 

L.T. Fan

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Leach is one of my favorite coaches if for no other reason than his attitude about the game.
 

boozeman

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This frightens and confuses me.
 

1bigfan13

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This frightens and confuses me.
:lol

I'm old enough to remember when Oklahoma made the transition from the triple option offense to more of a traditionally ran offense.

I want to say Cale Gundy was our QB and him being able to pass for over 2,000 yards in a season felt like a huge accomplishment.

Along those same lines, it still amazes me that former OU TE Keith Jackson somehow gained All-American honors and was a high draft pick coming out of that wishbone offense.
 

skidadl

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Head coaching job rankings by Athlon.

Athlon Sports ranks all 130 head football coaching jobs in FBS, from 1 to 130. They consider facilities, support, location, etc. They have Tech at No. 36, which I think is fair.

Comment: "Tech is an interesting program. It is in a remote location, but Lubbock isn't exactly a small town (population: 250,000). It's a big state school, but it's at best the third-best program in the state. Recruiting can be a challenge as well since Dallas is a 5-hour drive. Bottom line: There's a lot to like -- and a lot that makes this a tough job."

Other rankings of note:

4. Texas
8. Oklahoma
12. Aggy
22. Oklahoma State
33. West Virginia
36. Texas Tech
37. TCU
42. Baylor
48. Houston
62. Washington State
63. Iowa State
64. Kansas State
68. Kansas
 

L.T. Fan

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:lol

I'm old enough to remember when Oklahoma made the transition from the triple option offense to more of a traditionally ran offense.

I want to say Cale Gundy was our QB and him being able to pass for over 2,000 yards in a season felt like a huge accomplishment.

Along those same lines, it still amazes me that former OU TE Keith Jackson somehow gained All-American honors and was a high draft pick coming out of that wishbone offense.
The first transition out of the wishbone was when Troy Aikman was QB, He was injured in the first year of his career there and Switzer had to fall back to the option because the remaining QBs on the squad were all option players. Jamail Holloway way tagged to be the starter and Aikman was assisted by Switzer to go to UCLA.
 

L.T. Fan

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Keith Jackson gained so much attention because of the length of his catches. His overall average was more than 20 yards.
 

Cotton

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Head coaching job rankings by Athlon.

Athlon Sports ranks all 130 head football coaching jobs in FBS, from 1 to 130. They consider facilities, support, location, etc. They have Tech at No. 36, which I think is fair.

Comment: "Tech is an interesting program. It is in a remote location, but Lubbock isn't exactly a small town (population: 250,000). It's a big state school, but it's at best the third-best program in the state. Recruiting can be a challenge as well since Dallas is a 5-hour drive. Bottom line: There's a lot to like -- and a lot that makes this a tough job."

Other rankings of note:

4. Texas
8. Oklahoma
12. Aggy
22. Oklahoma State
33. West Virginia
36. Texas Tech
37. TCU
42. Baylor
48. Houston
62. Washington State
63. Iowa State
64. Kansas State
68. Kansas
That's actually higher than I would have thought we would have been ranked.
 

1bigfan13

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The first transition out of the wishbone was when Troy Aikman was QB, He was injured in the first year of his career there and Switzer had to fall back to the option because the remaining QBs on the squad were all option players. Jamail Holloway way tagged to be the starter and Aikman was assisted by Switzer to go to UCLA.
Yeah I remember that Aikman experiment. But as you mentioned it was a short-lived transition due to Aikman's broken leg. IIRC, he only played about 4 or 5 games. So I didn't consider that a true transition because they went right back to the wishbone and never fully committed to sticking with a more traditional offense until Switzer was run out of town a few years later.
 

L.T. Fan

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Yeah I remember that Aikman experiment. But as you mentioned it was a short-lived transition due to Aikman's broken leg. IIRC, he only played about 4 or 5 games. So I didn't consider that a true transition because they went right back to the wishbone and never fully committed to sticking with a more traditional offense until Switzer was run out of town a few years later.
Actually Switzer still lives in Norman.
 

Rev

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Didnt know where else to put this but since I'm referring to this dumbass college career here it goes...



Says the idiot that left because of it....
 

skidadl

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That's actually higher than I would have thought we would have been ranked.
I think it is about right. Tech is about a top 40 place. In some categories they are top 30, in others top 45, so it makes sense to me.
 

Cotton

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