Small Crowds - Big Waste

The title says it all. The University of Buffalo's subsidy of it's football program (almost 77% in the 2013-14 fiscal year) is nothing but a waste. In tight budget times when academic departments are struggling for any form of financial support just to maintain the status quo – they see cuts and a football program that can't pay for itself sees over 75% of its budget come from student fees that are too high.

The University of Buffalo (UB hereafter) sees itself as an academic and research institution. It is looking to be an anchor in the downtown medical complex and research area that Mayor Byron Brown and all sorts of elected officials are quick to fawn over and trumpet as a “rebirth of Buffalo.” It is not going to be able to do this if it can not afford full time faculty.

The budget freeze in Albany and cuts at the University level has crippled some departments by making them more dependent upon adjunct and part time faculty. No one wants to work part time or on a piecemeal basis, so when a full time position of any type opens up, they are gone. How will that help strengthen UB's academic programs?

Many students don't even go to the games. Football attendance is in decline. The only reason basketball is on the map is because Buffalo is decently located for travel – being central to major travel centers like NYC, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Cleveland. UB has not gone for, if at all in the “March Madness.” I think they went to one MAC-10 bowl game, and may have even won it. (I went to UB & I don't even know. I don't pay attention to college sports, and based on attendance figures, most UB students don't either.)

College sports is a money losing proposition for almost every school that participates in it. B. David Ridapth, of Ohio University, did a study of college sports costs and found that they keep climbing and have no impact or influence on why students choose a particular college. None. So spending that money is just a waste.

And the amount of money keeps going up. And students want their fees for attending college cut down.

Students really don't want the sports programs. They want full time professors. They want the classes that they need for their degrees so that they can graduate and have a chance on finding a position in their chosen career field. And they want their college debt cut. Heavily subsidizing a money losing proposition is doing nothing for helping the students achieve their goals.

UB needs to do something about this.

They need to either drop the Division I sports program altogether or change the motto of the institution

to “Keep them happy entertained, and stupid.”

UB students are not being entertained by the program.

They are not happy with the sporting program at all.

And they chose UB for an education.

The choice is simple.

Let the Bulls run free to some other school.