Financial Aspects in Sport Reflection This course forced me to look at the financial side of the sporting industry.

It allowed me to more fully appreciate the financial statuses of diverse segments of the sport industry, and also recognize the social, economic, and financial factors confronting the variety of sport professions. The projects assigned in this course were extremely helpful in reframing my mindset as to the business aspect of sport - extremely important since collegiate athletics has become a true business in every since of the word. Two of the most fulfilling projects we completed in this course were the (1) budgeting project and the (2) fundraising proposal - both of which I am likely to face in the future as an intercollegiate athletic administrator. In the budgeting project we were faced with a budgetary shortfall and had to make the administrative decisions necessary to get our schools athletic department out of the red and back into the black so, for the remainder of the year, our department could be ran with a zero-based budgeting approach where any extra funds will need to be applied for and justified before being granted. With that said, In evaluating our athletic departments budget deficit, we kept the following objectives in mind when making decisions on finding a budgeting solution. First, we decided to make across-the-board cuts, when possible, to ensure each department was treated as equally as possible and to ensure the department remained in compliance with Title IX budgetary requirements; we especially wanted to stay away from cutting athletic teams in their entirety to continue to comply with the accommodation and proportionality tiers. In addition, we focused on making the cuts (or increases) in a places where it would be as feasible as possible to keep the sport working as close to its current level in order to ensure competitive equality - allowing the squads to maintain their level of competition during economic shortfalls. Finally, we focused on making adjustments which would be easy for the department and fans to understand and accept. Some of the cuts we made included an across-the-board cut to every sports game management expenses. This cut was made because the duties of game management are those which could easily be either assumed by current employees or a graduate student intern; it isnt work which is highly specified and can be assumed by a current employee or graduate student to save money on having to farm it out to an additional employee. Second, every teams equipment faced an across-the-board cut. The decrease in equipment expenditures will result in teams being more economical when ordering short-term expendables. Additionally, our athletic department asked the schools fan base to be a bit more understanding of our economic situation in that we had to make the decision to raise ticket prices by one dollar for each sport which charged admission. In the short-term, this is a fast way to take hold of the budgeting problem and see a quick fix. All of these cuts are easy cut backs which simply ask for the departments to use allocated resources in a more resourceful and meager fashion, which results in re-using last years equipment and being more aware of the waste created by the department. Finally, in an effort to show his/her support and understanding of the difficulty of the cuts, the ADs salary was cut by two percent. This was done in an effort to boost morale within the department and show all coaches that everyone was effected by the budgetary cuts and shortfalls. This budgetary project and the cuts we decided to make, reminded me of a recent issue which arose at Furman University (it also provides a nice segway into the second project for

this course). In February, Furman Universitys Athletic Department announced it would no longer sponsor mens golf as a varsity sport for the next academic year. The schools major reasoning for cutting the program was the large operating budget the sport consumed - $375$400,000. However, eighteen days after the school announced the discontinuation of the program, they released a statement overturning their original decision. As a result of a continued outpouring of support, financially and otherwise, from donors and distinguished alumni, the school was able to place the program back into the athletic departments operating budget. Former alumni, led by professional golfer Brad Faxon, submitted a proposal to the schools Board of Trustees which helped to take care of short-term operating costs for the program and establish an endowment for scholarships. As a result of implementing commonsensical and more economical solutions and the generous support of impassioned supporters, Furman University Mens Golf continues. As seen by the above-referenced article, fundraising is also a major part of the funding and survival of college athletic programs. Another major project in this course involved our groups proposing a fundraising project which our own Masters in Sport Administration class could realistically implement. Our group decided to run a twenty-four hour dodgeball marathon. This avenue was chosen due to its low cost to operate (the BU Sport Science Department already had the necessary equipment), the huge target audience it could reach (due to the sports popularity and lack of skill required), and the ability for the event to bring the entire campus together as a cohesive unit to promote the fundraising cause. Not only did the proposed fundraising event allow the donors to see their gifts in action, but it also gave them a good time in return. ! Each of these projects, along with others throughout the course, gave me an increased awareness of the stressors which athletic administrators, professors, and student-athletes face on a regular basis. I feel it is extremely important, no matter the size of the university, each department feel included (or at least fully informed) in the budgetary process. Each department should feel as though they are a part of the university as a whole and being valued in this process each and every scal year.