With all that money in big-time college football and basketball — and much more to come under new television contracts — should the players be paid?
Second question: what, if anything, should the University of Memphis do to become more like its old rival, Louisville, which is in the preseason Top 10 in football and is graduating to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) next year? In basketball, Louisville reported an astonishing $42 million in revenue in men’s basketball in 2011-2012 — nearly six times as much as Memphis. And this was the year BEFORE winning the NCAA tournament.
Some perspective first from Wren Baker, deputy athletic director at University of Memphis. As is often the case with well-intentioned disclosure mandates, the reporting from different colleges and universities to the U.S. Department of Education is “highly inconsistent.” Some (including Memphis) were told to make expenses and revenues balance, but DOE didn’t get around to everyone. Baker, who was athletic director at a previous employer in Oklahoma, said including or excluding a major fundraising campaign such as the $7 million Tiger Scholarships in basketball makes a huge difference. Generally speaking, he said, expenses are a more reliable figure than reported revenue. Basketball revenue is probably understated, while football revenue is overstated.