Editor's note: This is part 2 in a two part series
When U students heard the football team would be making millions from its participation in the Fiesta Bowl, many wondered to whom the money would be paid.
Others wondered whether or not the average student would benefit from the boon.
Rumors originally led many to believe the U would receive as much as $14 million-potentially leaving money to benefit the entire school. In actuality the U came away with little more than $2 million in extra revenue. When it comes right down to it, it wasn't the school that got the money or even made it-it was the athletics department.
According to U Athletics Director Chris Hill, the athletics department will use the extra money internally, and will not share any of it with the school.
Hill admitted that the average student at the U would "probably not" benefit from the extra money, but he also said the athletics department was in no position financially to help the rest of the school.
"What we'd hate to do is to give $300,000 to the school and then in two years to have a bad football season and have to go and ask for that money back. Then all of a sudden people are saying 'We can't give that money back to the athletics department, we've got enough problems.'"
Hill said the goal for most athletics departments around the country is to break even, especially when bowl games are involved. In his view, the extra BCS money gives the athletics department a chance to get back on its feet after years of financial turmoil. In the long run, using the BCS money internally should save the school money.
"We need to have the athletic department be as healthy as it can be so it doesn't become a burden to the rest of the University," Hill said. "This is a way to get healthy for the next three to five years, a way to get some breathing room."
Hill acknowledged that some students not affiliated with the athletics department might indirectly benefit from the football team's success. For example, the U Bookstore was able to provide some students with discounts at the beginning of spring semester as a result of the extra money it made from increased merchandise sales.
There are other indirect ways a student can benefit from the exposure of a school's participation in a BCS bowl, but few ways in which a student can directly benefit from the proceeds. The official Web site of the Bowl Championship Series, www.BCSfootball.org, argues that a school attending a BCS bowl game will earn additional revenues through increased donations, some of which will inevitably be given to the school and not just the athletics department. The site also states that participation in a BCS bowl game will improve the visibility of a school, which can increase a school's overall credibility and ultimately lead to increased enrollment.
The indirect benefits of participation in a BCS bowl game are not as tangible as a dollar figure, but they are real nonetheless.
The average U student probably won't get a better education as a result of the football team's success. However, the fact that the athletics department is again financially sound will likely make a huge difference down the road.
tsmith@chronicle.utah.edu
