Texas Faculty Rejecting Brown Pay Raise A Call For Athletic Revolt?
by War Eagle Atlanta on Dec 17, 2009 4:43 PM CST
22 comments
Last week, the university of Texas' regents decided to make Mack Brown the highest paid coach in college athletics by bumping his salary $2M a year to $5M total, running through 2016. This week, the Texas faculty council voted for a resolution declaring the move to be "unseemly and inappropriate" given the current state of the school's budget. The vote was informal, as not enough members were present for a quorum. Not that it made an ounce of difference.
It goes without saying that Brown's salary is paid for out of athletic department funds, which is separate from the academic side, and Texas' department is the highest earning in the nation with over $87M in revenues last year alone. In addition, the department has also donated $6.6M in funds to academics since 2005. Indeed, things are looking up for Mack Brown, and his successor in waiting, Will Mushamp.
But David Hillis, past chair of the council, believes that athletics are "destroying higher education in America". The amount that it donates to academics is far less than the proportion that research grants donate, by comparison. Hillis believes that this arms race of athletic spending cannot be sustained and that schools like UT are responsible for driving up costs nationwide, and that they can either be part of the problem, or part of the reformation.
Look. Athletics are their own little fiefdom on most campuses. As the old saying goes, basketball pays for itself and football pays for everything else. Is it fair for sport to hold so much sway over these large academic institutions? Probably not, but sway they do hold. Another old saying: "it's hard to rally around a chemistry exam". It's probably best to think of athletics as a little side family business--and a profitable one, especially considering that most FBS schools are heavily subsidized by state legislatures.
Would Texas be as successful now under the helm of a coach only compensated half as much as Mack Daddy? That's debatable, but is it not the same scenario as a CEO of a Fortune 500 company? Maybe the whole boardroom is on auto-pilot or maybe the president is flying the whole ship solo--albeit by the seat of his pants. The important thing is that his ass is on the line. Coaches live and die by performance--unlike so many of these tenured professors sitting in their ivory towers. When was the last time someone reviewed their compensation package as it pertains to how much they actually produce, teach or manage. Hmmmm.
If you believe in free markets, you have to trust that the market will correct itself eventually--assuming that it's even off. Yes, some of these escalating salaries are obscene, and so are most of the fees associated with trying to obtain football tickets these days. We all have to vote with our wallet. Maybe that's something that the Auburn AD should consider as they contribute with every increment to the rising cost of watching college football on the Plains.
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I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
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Auburn Tigers: The leap-frogging'ist bowl team in 2009.
by War Eagle Atlanta on Dec 18, 2009 5:32 PM CST up reply actions
Die you capitalist pig
"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum
by GumptownTiger on Dec 18, 2009 11:55 AM CST up reply actions
Back to the article at hand...
WEA…I can’t disagree with you more on this article. Before anything else, a school is academic first and then sports. Those professors have a right to vote no on the pay increase. And, it’s not so easy in our white ivory towers as you make it seem. Coaches are paid way too much. There vote of no is their right. It might not make much difference, but they’re allowed to vote that way if they so choose. It is unfair to speak of freedom and then complain on their vote. Deal with it, as they’re going to have to deal with the pay raise anyway.
Absolutely...and I'll go one further...
I think an athletic program should break even…period….any excess money should be put back into the school. Watching tuition costs creep up and up is hard to swallow as ou watch another level being added to a stadium, or as in the case at a school like Oregon, your team is dressed out in a different hideous uniform every week. I understand the rat race of improving facilities, but money is slowly but surely ruining college athletics. Vanderbilt’s team may suck, but the UT grads end up working for Commodores. What’s more important. Bully for the Texas faculty for taking some kind of stand.
Upon moving to AL, I let my wife decide who she would root for. After one day at a new job full of Bama fans, she met me at the door with a hearty cry of "WAR EAGLE"
by SandMountainTiger on Dec 18, 2009 1:47 AM CST up reply actions
wow..L2 edit...
Upon moving to AL, I let my wife decide who she would root for. After one day at a new job full of Bama fans, she met me at the door with a hearty cry of "WAR EAGLE"
by SandMountainTiger on Dec 18, 2009 1:48 AM CST up reply actions
I wouldn't
have a problem with athletic department profits being taxed as regular income, since it is a business and shouldn’t fall under the not-for-profit umbrella afforded by the university. Of course, if excess funds were diverted to academics, they would be tax exempt.
Auburn Tigers: The leap-frogging'ist bowl team in 2009.
by War Eagle Atlanta on Dec 18, 2009 5:35 PM CST up reply actions
hmm...
From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs….
Hating Lowder since 1993.
If you're saying I'm a communist...
then you really couldn’t be more wrong. The guys have a right to vote no-that is part of being involved with the university. Freedom is more than just when you agree with someone, they have the right to disagree. I don’t like the job Obama is doing at all. I have a right as an American to not agree with him-and damnit here I’m putting politics into this blog site which I hate doing. All I’m saying, they have a right to vote no. If the football program wants to go off on its own then maybe we should start an amateur football league and leave the schools completely out of it.
The coach should also have the right to vote no on professors increased wages and how quickly tenure is given if the professors are going to be granted that kind of power. I’m just saying you guys are acting like the professors are bad people, but they might know a lot more about what’s going on with the finances at Texas than we do.
Perhaps
the Obama administration should appoint a coaching czar who can determine salaries?
The faculty’s vote didn’t mean squat. It was non-binding and solely symbolic, yet I agree with them to a point. You’re saying they have a right? You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means…
Auburn Tigers: The leap-frogging'ist bowl team in 2009.
by War Eagle Atlanta on Dec 18, 2009 5:51 PM CST up reply actions
Brown is playing in the National Champioship game. How many millions of dollars did HE earn for Texas? Brown is personally responsible for bringing that money to the school. In America, we believe individuals EARN their money the old fashioned way.
I know the whole thing is insulting to history professors in their smoke stained tweed, but football has morphed beyond the Greek ideal that sport glorifies and eddifies our young people. But the school charges money at the gate. Winning teams make more money. You hire coaches who will win. When they win, they should be rewarded.
The other side to this coin about resenting Brown’s bonus is Charlie Weis, et al. Coaches aren’t tenured like professors. They get fired when they have losing seasons. And lately it appears that the length of time a coach has to amass his lifetime earnings is getting shorter. So he has to make as much money as he can to protect himself for when he gets old.
So, the history profs can “get together and sign a petition” (which only thinly veils their envy), but how much money did they bring in to the University this year?
Wow..
You really KNOW nothing about the academic world. First of all, I don’t smoke and I’ve never worn tweed in my life. Secondly, the salaries are way out of hand when it comes to the realm of coach compensation. They (the professors) can vote “no” if they choose. You guys are bitching about an American right. Your nerve and audacity are truly amazing. I really wish you guys would stop mentioning tenure as well. It takes a while for a professor of any discipline to get tenure and even then a professor has no guarantee they will maintain their position as the economy sputters along. Why don’t we just have football teams and athletic programs only? I mean history and chemistry be damned we’ll just throw them all out because they EARN more money.
I find it hilarious that you guys forget what all of these institutions are: They are SCHOOLS!!! Whether you like it or not, these places are institutions of HIGHER learning. If you would rather it just be football then cheer for the NFL. However, such is not the case with schools like Texas or Auburn for that matter. Those salaries have to come from somewhere, and often times you see the students’ tuition go astronomically high. Here’s an idea for you-get rid of all the professors and see how long Texas keeps its prized university. Then, you’ll see how much academics do matter at a SCHOOL.
Reruiting…
Look, bigger stadiums bring in more recruits…period. I’m tired of being behind Alabama in the recruiting trail. More stands in the stadium does in fact bring in the recruits.
by Sparkey on Dec 11, 2009 6:05 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
They started beating us before that…
I’m not sure what it is exactly. But, Alabama starting beating us in recruiting after a 6-6 season. Winning helps a lot, but in this instance that doesn’t really explain things. Sorry, but the logic is unacceptable. We need to get out there and push harder and get more. This year has been great, but I want to be in the top three and no less year in year out.
by Sparkey on Dec 13, 2009 2:55 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Don’t get me wrong…
I don’t think Chizik is doing a bad job at all. I’m just saying we should not slow down at all, we should in fact push harder. We’re going great right recruiting wise it seems and I hope that it continues like that. I’m just saying we should start seeing how we should be the top recruiting school in the state is all.
by Sparkey on Dec 14, 2009 10:06 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
it isn’t the only factor
I’m not sure how the facilities are, but they should be looking to make them better, every single year. Wherever improvement can be made, then we make it and we should never be content. This is the attitude that will take us to the top. Enjoy success, but never for one second stop looking forward.
by Sparkey on Dec 14, 2009 3:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Sparkey, do you know what makes these kind of things happen? A great football coach that can build a winning team. Those guys don’t come cheap. You went on and on about how you thought we needed to improve things for football program, now you say:
I find it hilarious that you guys forget what all of these institutions are: They are SCHOOLS!!! Whether you like it or not, these places are institutions of HIGHER learning. If you would rather it just be football then cheer for the NFL.
Your conflicting stances on this subject do not make sense.
by Jumpn_JackFlash on Dec 18, 2009 12:34 PM CST up reply actions
Hahaha
You seem to have me contradicting myself, but I’m not. I think that we should have better facilities for every program at the school. I’m always looking to improve. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think somebody like Mack Brown is highly overpaid. However, the main thing I’m arguing about is the right for the faculty to vote no on the pay raise. They have that right because they’re a part of the school. You guys are acting like they don’t have the right to disagree. Something that liberals do all the time-conservatives have no right to disagree. Well, I think they have a right to disagree. I don’t begrudge Mack Brown on making his money, but at the same time I think that the professors voting no is their same right.
I’m all for having better facilities and things like that. I just don’t agree that students and faculty should be marginalized. When you take out the other aspects of college football it simply becomes a business. Part of it is strictly business. Yet, there is still the part of college that comes along with it.
Word has it
that Mack’s salary boost is really more of a short term thing designed to boost his retirement benefits. Of course it can be argued that once the $5 Mil threshold has been reached the demand for that salary may likely be here to stay.
By the way...
instead of talking about a possible pay increase for Mack Brown, what about us talking about recruiting this year and what just happened this week? I mean we’re kicking some serious ass and we got four guys to count as 2009 signees instead of 2010. That frees up four scholarships and we might have one more sign on before the deadline as well. We really are doing great and we still might get Seastrunk or Lattimore. I’d be thrilled with either one of those guys and absolutely elated with both of them.
I don't know about all of this "break even" business
As noted from the article, the academic side of any university benefits from the success of its athletic department. When you take away incentives (in this case, profits), then you make athletics a cost-prohibitive option, and you lose whatever benefits are gained by academia. I don’t know what the motivation behind the “vote” by these Texas professors was, but they really should’ve consulted someone in the economics department. Until athletics has to borrow money from the general fund, it doesn’t affect them at all. That extra two million they are giving to Mack wasn’t going to go to them anyway. They still have plenty left over if some is needed.
by HarveyBirdmanAAL on Dec 18, 2009 1:32 PM CST reply actions
I really didn't think
A school would pay a coach more than Saban for at least a couple of more years. Not trying to be a jackass, but the fact that there are schools willing to go higher ought to scare you guys a little.
Upon moving to AL, I let my wife decide who she would root for. After one day at a new job full of Bama fans, she met me at the door with a hearty cry of "WAR EAGLE"
by SandMountainTiger on Dec 19, 2009 4:43 AM CST reply actions
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