NO PAYDIRT: MCDUFFIE SPEAKS OUT ON ATHLETIC BUDGET ISSUE

A recommended cut of $250,000 from Southeast Missouri State University's intercollegiate athletic budget would inhibit the school's ability to compete at the Division I level, Southeast's athletic director said Tuesday.

Southeast's Budget Review Committee voted 12-11 Monday against rescinding its earlier recommendation to cut the athletic budget. One committee member abstained.

Athletic Director Richard McDuffie pointed out that the budget committee action is a recommendation and the issue still must be reviewed by university President Kala Stroup and Southeast's Administrative Council.

The university administration is opposed to the budget-cutting move. University administrators on the budget committee had sought to have the committee's recommendation rescinded.

McDuffie said he doesn't want to speculate on what budget action will be taken by the administration and ultimately the Board of Regents.

"I would hope that the original plan for Division I would continue," he said. "We are not overfunded."

Some budget committee members had suggested that the university's athletic department should be able to generate more revenue for athletics and cut costs to generate budget savings.

McDuffie said Tuesday that the athletic program does generate a sizable amount of revenue to help pay for its operations.

"We are not in a situation where the athletic department is in the red," he said. "We are not an institution where the athletic department doesn't carry its own weight."

McDuffie added, "We like to think we are paying our way better than most do.

"Athletics does produce revenue for the university. It does present a good, positive image for the university."

For the 1993 fiscal year, Southeast is projected to operate its athletic program on a budget of more than $3.2 million, of which $1.8 million would come out of the university's general operations budget. McDuffie said the university funding pays for salaries and benefits, student labor and operational expenses.

The remaining $1.45 million would come from external sources, such as Booster Club donations, concessions, tickets, summer camps, entry fees, television broadcast rights, football and basketball television shows and money from the NCAA.

Booster Club donations are expected to total $265,000. Football ticket sales are slated to generate $60,000, with basketball ticket sales bringing in $410,000. Summer camps are projected to generate $187,000.

Southeast, like other Division I schools, receives $25,000 annually for "academic enhancement." McDuffie said Southeast has hired an academic adviser to assist athletes, advising them on courses and securing tutors.

In the coming fiscal year, Southeast is also expected to receive $78,000 from the NCAA under its revenue distribution plan. NCAA schools nationwide receive a share of the television revenue generated during the previous year, he explained.

McDuffie said the public has been very supportive of the university's athletic program. The Booster Club has more than 1,000 members.

"We are the top revenue producer among the Ohio Valley schools," he noted. Such a ranking requires planning and hard work. "It just doesn't happen overnight."

Most of the outside revenue generated for Southeast's athletic program goes to fund athletic scholarships, McDuffie said.

All of the university's nearly 150 athletic scholarships are paid for with external funds, he noted.

He said the athletic department is always looking to bring in additional revenue. "Our first objective annually is to pay for scholarships and to meet the rising cost of education," he said.

Fee hikes affect all students, including athletes. As the cost of incidental fees and room and board rises, so does the cost of providing athletic scholarships, explained McDuffie.

This fiscal year, Southeast will bring in about $1.25 million in actual revenue, and another $230,000 in in-kind gifts, and radio and television air time.

Out of that, the university will net about $913,000. Most of that $710,000 is budgeted for athletic scholarships.

It will cost an additional $90,000 just to offer the same number of scholarships for the coming fiscal year, McDuffie said.

Southeast plans to spend $896,000 on athletic scholarships in 1992-93, budget figures show.

In the current fiscal year, the athletic budget had to absorb a $70,000 increase in scholarship costs as well as a $75,000 budget cut, he pointed out.

McDuffie said the university is required to offer a certain number of scholarships and field teams in a number of sports to meet both NCAA and Ohio Valley Conference requirements.

For its move to Division I, Southeast raised its funding commitment to athletics by $250,000. But McDuffie said $142,000 of that would have been required even if the university had remained at the Division II level. The $142,000 figure includes $84,000 for increased costs such as medical insurance, replacement of a bus and drug testing, and $58,000 in added travel expenses for the Division II conference in which Southeast competed.

He said the move to Division I has provided greater visibility for the university and aided student recruitment efforts.

"We are confident in the quality of our program and that we keep our expenses down to a bare minimum," McDuffie said.