PRIVATE FUNDING BOOST TO SEMO ATHLETICS; DIVISION I SCHOLARSHIPS ON INCREASE

(First in a series)

Private funding has been a big-time player in Southeast Missouri State University's move to NCAA Division I athletics.

University officials and athletic boosters say private funding totaling about $1.3 million in cash and $100,000 to $200,000 in in-kind gifts and services has been vital to the Cape Girardeau school's ability to move up from Division II to Division I.

"I think the university would not have gone into Division I without the reliance on external funds generated by athletics," said Richard McDuffie, Southeast's athletics director.

In May 1988, the university's Board of Regents approved a plan to proceed with the move to Division I. Southeast was later admitted as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and began Division I play in fall 1991. In football, OVC schools play in Division I-AA.

Since going Division I, Southeast's athletic budget has climbed by more than $700,000, with more than half of the increase going for athletic scholarships, university budget figures show.

In fiscal year 1991 the last year Southeast competed at the Division II level the university's athletic budget totaled $2,078,466. In fiscal year 1992 Southeast's first year of Division I play athletic expenses totaled $2,577,007. This fiscal year the athletic budget stands at $2,792,672.

Scholarship costs have climbed from $422,395 three years ago to $890,000 this fiscal year. Next year it is going to be over $1 million, McDuffie said.

Southeast pays for all its scholarships with private funds. McDuffie said he knows of no other Division I-AA school that follows such a practice.

Said McDuffie: "We pay for all of our scholarships out of athletics revenue, which is ticket sales, which is donations, which is sponsorships. That dollar amount increases substantially each year because the cost of education goes up."

In addition, Southeast has added 55 athletic scholarships, he pointed out. The university offered 98 athletic scholarships in its last year of Division II play. Today the university has 153 such scholarships, McDuffie said.

Salaries and benefits for athletic personnel, including coaches, have also increased from $987,957 in fiscal year 1991 to more than $1 million this fiscal year. But McDuffie said the university would have been faced with increased costs in that area at any level of athletic competition. The number of coaches has remained fairly constant over the past three years, he said. Southeast has 28 full-time equivalent coaches.

McDuffie said the university has increased both its institutional and private funding of athletics to meet the added expenses.

"We lead the OVC in revenue, no question about it," he said.

Ticket sales generated $290,000 three years ago. Today, sales generate about $450,000. Part of the increase is the result of higher ticket prices. Booster club donations have jumped from $133,000 in fiscal year 1991 to $250,000 for this fiscal year, budget figures show.

In addition, students now pay an athletic fee, which generates more than $115,000 annually. Miscellaneous revenue such as profits from summer camps and concessions and entry-fee money has grown from $37,000 to $199,000 in three years.

Game programs at most OVC schools are money losers. But not at Southeast, which sells advertisements in the programs, said Ron Hines, director of sports information. "Here, we make money on game programs."

According to university budget figures, the institutional commitment has climbed from more than $1.6 million in fiscal year 1991 to $1.77 million this fiscal year.

The athletic budget shows private funding of just over $1 million. But McDuffie said it's more like $1.3 million in "straight money" when football and basketball coaches' shows and other athletic-related income are taken into account. The television shows generate about $40,000, which pays the shows' expenses.

And with in-kind contributions, private support for athletics amounts to about $1.4 or $1.5 million annually, McDuffie said.

"That's a hell of a deal right there and a deal that other schools our size still don't have," he said.

Faculty representatives on the university's Budget Review Committee contend that the nearly $2.8 million athletic budget doesn't accurately reflect the total amount of money spent on athletics.

Last year faculty representatives on the committee calculated the 1993 fiscal year budget for athletics and athletic-related operations at $3.5 million.

University officials, however, dispute that figure. Even so, there's agreement among all parties that the university itself is paying out about $1.8 million in athletic expenses.

The athletic budget figures, officials said, don't include the $74,000 in expenses for operation of sports information services.

But no matter how the budget is calculated, McDuffie said it's clear that athletics generates a substantial amount of revenue toward paying its expenses.

And with tight state funding for higher education in Missouri, McDuffie said, it's all the more important for Southeast to generate a sizable amount of athletic revenue.

Monday: Southeast officials assess the move to Division I in terms of recruiting students and enhancing the school's prestige.