Resolution on the CSS Report on RU Athletics

Background

As members of the New Brunswick Faculty Council of Rutgers University, we wish the Rutgers intercollegiate athletics program every possible success. A successful athletics program may not only enhance the University's brand; it can also teach student-athletes life lessons about teamwork and good sportsmanship, all the while increasing awareness of what Rutgers has to offer in terms of academics, as well as athletics. Properly managed and administered, Rutgers Athletics can make a very positive contribution to the life of the University and should be something to be proud of by all who have an interest in the success of the flagship University in New Jersey.

Unfortunately, there are personnel and financial issues that are a serious concern to the whole Rutgers community. There has been a widely publicized record of personnel difficulties that paint a negative picture of the current status of Rutgers athletics. To date, Rutgers has hired four athletics directors in 11 years, three football coaches in 8 years, three men's basketball coaches in 6 years, and since 2013 has paid over $11 million in severance pay for coaches and other administrators. In addition, after ill-advised recruiting decisions and the marginalization of faculty in recruiting and mentoring, the program brought student-athletes to the campus who were subsequently arrested and charged with crimes. Subsequent to their guilty pleas, some football players were reinstated to the team. These personnel and integrity difficulties have been detrimental to the image of the University in the press and have no doubt contributed to revenue problems in many ways.

The New Brunswick Faculty Council has previously made recommendations on the major financial difficulties associated with the management of Rutgers Athletics. The severe deficits, amounting to almost $232 million over the five-year period ending in 2018, are a major concern for the entire Rutgers community. President Barchi acknowledged to the University Senate that long-standing financial problems have plagued athletics and that "severe" measures are needed to try to "right the ship." To that end, the University administration has used student fees, general University funds, loans from the University, and advances from the Big Ten to cover the deficits. But, none of these measures are "severe" and none will "right the ship." As a result, the administration has recently pushed back the date when Rutgers Athletics will no longer have a deficit from 2021 to 2027. This retreat is particularly sobering because, as President Barchi himself said in 2013, athletics is "siphoning dollars from the academic mission."

The University administration has recognized the critical nature of these personnel and financial challenges. The consulting firm College Sports Solutions (CSS) was engaged to "conduct an operational review of its athletics enterprise to assist the University in developing a comprehensive, multi-dimensional plan to reach competitiveness in a fiscally responsible manner." CSS presented its recommendations in January 2019. Some of these recommendations are not surprising (e.g., football and basketball should increase revenue "through the renovation of all potential revenue-producing areas" at their respective venues), but CSS says little or nothing specific about how these recommendations might be implemented or how cost-effective they might be. CSS made no recommendations concerning whether, or how, all members of the Rutgers community should become more active in raising funds for athletics.

The CSS report further recommended that the program "seek forgiveness or reduction of the principal and/or interest of current university loans to athletics" - thus allowing the program to abandon or reduce its clear and unqualified obligation to repay the substantial funds it has taken from the University. In addition, CSS recommended a continuing search for "ways to incorporate ongoing athletic expenses into the University budget," even though such a change would be mere accounting gimmickry that would not reduce the athletics deficit. Finally, and of particular concern, CSS recommended that the administration seek an "increase in the current student fee to support athletics" and "reduce the number of sport offerings." It is truly dismaying that CSS has proposed increasing the financial burden on students while simultaneously reducing the number of athletics opportunities for students.

The New Brunswick Faculty Council does not believe we have enough information to tell University administrators, including the Board of Governors, exactly how to manage finances. We do believe, however, that given the athletics department's track record in recent years, there now exists a unique opportunity to strengthen the faculty's role in oversight of athletics. The New Brunswick Faculty Council believes strongly that Rutgers has a huge resource in its faculty who should be utilized for the "assets" they can bring to the table to help formulate a holistic, community-based effort to move athletics toward true fiscal independence while not imposing increased fiscal burdens on students or on the academic mission of the University. Such a rolefor faculty already exists at almost every university in the Big Ten.

Resolution

Now, therefore, be it resolved that:

1. The New Brunswick Faculty Council recommends that the Chancellor urge the athletics program and the University administration to restore the traditional substantial role of faculty in the recruiting and mentoring of student athletes.

2. The New Brunswick Faculty Council further recommends that the Chancellor advocate specifically for greater faculty participation, in essence, a partnership between faculty and athletics. The constitution of a Faculty Athletics Advisory Council, chosen jointly by the NBFC and the administration, which would meet regularly with the athletics director to discuss all matters of interest and concern, including finances, recruiting, and mentoring, could accomplish this goal. Such faculty advisory groups already exist at almost all of the Big Ten Universities.

3. Mindful of the very substantial educational costs and loans that our students must already bear, the New Brunswick Faculty Council recommends that the Chancellor strongly oppose the CSS recommendation that the administration seek an increase in student fee funds for athletics. On the contrary, we call on the administration to commit to eliminating all student fee funds for athletics by the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year.

4. The New Brunswick Faculty Council recommends that the Chancellor strongly urge the athletics program and the University administration not to "reduce the number of sport offerings."

5. The New Brunswick Faculty Council is strongly opposed to the CSS recommendations that (a) Rutgers Athletics "seek forgiveness or reduction of the principal and/or interest of current University loans to Athletics" and that (b) the central administration should "incorporate ongoing athletic expenses into the University budget."

6. The New Brunswick Faculty Council recommends that the Chancellor call on the Office of the President to utilize the diverse expertise of the New Brunswick Faculty Council and the academic constituencies we represent to help formulate a realistic master plan that would rectify and stabilize the athletic program's financial situation.