At Thursday's Idaho State Board of Education meeting, we will ask the board to waive for one year the funding cap that limits what our university can spend on athletics. This $950,000 waiver allows the University of Idaho to spend its own funds to relieve a projected year-end deficit in the athletics program. I understand this request raises questions, so I want to explain it within the context of our vision and direction for UI athletics going forward.
The SBOE's funding cap reflects a philosophy that institutions should limit their expenditures on athletics to an appropriate level. Fundamentally, we agree with this position. Athletics is an important part of the UI, providing an experience for student-athletes, students and fans that complements the broader excellence of our institution. As with other university programs, it must be resourced in a well-considered way.
I appreciate the concerns some UI community members have raised about the proposed additional expenditures. Most functions in public higher education - our academic programs and support services - are subsidized by the institution. As administrators, one of our challenges is to determine the appropriate level of institutional funding we will provide for academic or support programs.
So what are we going to do? We will build a financially sustainable athletics program over the long-term so that we are not in this same position in the future. We are assessing our revenue sources and weighing cost-reduction options, ranging from sports that we sponsor, to scholarships, to administrative and other program costs. I want our athletics program to be financially robust and successful just as it has demonstrated it can be on the field of play.
Achieving this will require tough choices. We will use the athletics funding cap waiver period to ensure we phase in program adjustments judiciously and effectively. Our pursuit of the appropriate level of athletics programming and expenditures has already begun. One reason our Vandal football program joined our other sports in the Big Sky Conference instead of continuing as an independent in the Football Bowl Subdivision was a recognition that our budget - and any reasonable projections for it going forward - is better aligned with the Big Sky Conference. We are not able to venture into an arms race of spending to remain FBS, especially when stable affiliation within an exciting conference with opportunities for regional matchups is readily available.
I share the pride of our UI community when a Kibbie Dome crowd celebrates a football victory or when our basketball teams make a postseason run. I believe we will compete for championships in football. We are also excited about the future of our court sports, as we embark on a new arena for our women's and men's basketball programs and our volleyball team. Our women's soccer team will play on a new field this fall in the Kibbie Dome, with a chance to build on outstanding seasons in a unique venue. This is an exciting time for sports at UI and for the women and men who play them and for the fans who enjoy them.
We get great satisfaction as our student-athletes cross the stage at graduation. We can enhance the academic side of the student-athlete equation and be a leader in attracting and retaining student-athletes who achieve academic distinction. Our prestige and relevance are buttressed by our academic excellence as a research university and by the success of our graduates. Here, too, is an opportunity for athletics to complement Vandal excellence.
It is never easy to ask to spend more to cover a shortfall. It is also not easy to consider changes to a program that is such a part of who we are. But we must do both to forge a bright, long-term future for the Vandal Athletics program - one our Vandal family cares deeply about.
Chuck Staben is president of the UI.
