The Daily Tar Heel
URL: http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/11/unc_faculty_meet_with_dick_baddour_to_express_concern_over_financial_priority_on_athletics
Current Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 10:14:21 -0400
UNC faculty meet with Dick Baddour to express concern over financial priority on athletics
| 
Tools
Possibly Related
- The Tar Heels open ACC Tournament with 6-0 win 10 hours ago
- Pair of Church Street sexual battery cases being investigated by Chapel Hill police MAY 23
- UNC professor is named to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C. Board of Trustees MAY 23
- Kenan-Flagler study finds a perception gap in women’s leadership opportunities MAY 23
- WakeMed withdraws offer to purchase Rex Healthcare MAY 22
In the eyes of some faculty members, UNC doesn’t need 28 varsity sports.
Outgoing athletic director Dick Baddour appeared Wednesday before a small group of faculty concerned with the University’s financial priority on athletic success.
“It has caused a diversion of important University resources,” said Dr. Lewis Margolis, an associate professor of maternal and child health during a Campus Y forum.
The event — which was intended to allow faculty members the chance to learn about Baddour’s administrative role — transformed into a discussion about how faculty feel they lack a voice in deciding the direction of University funds.
Several faculty members asked for a justification of financing 28 varsity sports when academic departments have experienced severe budget cuts and faculty have forgone pay raises.
Baddour was joined by Lissa Broome, law professor and faculty athletics representative, and Steve Reznick, psychology professor and chairman of the faculty athletics committee.
Several faculty argued that the University should de-emphasize athletics, particularly football, and return to the University’s intellectual core.
Baddour said UNC has increased financial emphasis on the football program because the revenue funds other sports.
“The University of North Carolina has decided that football is important, and it wants to excel, and it wants to do it right,” Baddour said.
He said the department hopes that UNC’s football program will eventually garner as much funding as the basketball program.
Baddour will be replaced by Tulsa athletic director Bubba Cunningham on Nov. 14.
Reznick said the faculty athletics committee would be reluctant to see sports cut in order to save money.
“Athletics is part of our body,” Reznick said. “You can’t just remove the pancreas.”
The student fee advisory subcommittee recently rejected a $45 increase to the student athletic fee, which would have funded student athlete scholarships.
Broome said athletics add more to UNC than just revenue.
“There is a collegiate decor created by athletics that bind us all together in a way that doesn’t happen otherwise,” Broome said.
She added that Baddour has made academics a first priority for student athletes.
Silvia Tomaskova, an associate professor of women’s studies and anthropology, said she has found that academics are sometimes overshadowed by athletics.
Following the forum, Tomaskova said in an interview that she felt like she was told what to think by Baddour and the committee.
Margolis said the role of the athletic director should be guided by the same principles as other University administrators.
“We need to ask how certain activities advance the driving mission of the University,” Margolis said. “We have to ask what our priorities are, and in doing so, we need to be transparent. We can’t be afraid to ask the tough questions.”
Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.
Online Poll:
Do you think fracking can be done safely?
20 comments
This “debate,” which seems to perpetuate itself in the dark corners of academia despite its endlessly proven absurdity, is as legitimate as discussing whether or not we should outlaw cars and revert back to horse-drawn buggies in order to protect the environment. The two stand equally, both in terms of feasibility and logical coherence.
Get with the program or get left behind, as the faculty members who relentlessly pine for the University to set fire to the Dean Dome and piss on the ashes in a show of academic pride have been.
Bigtime college sports has gotten to be a disgrace; ah, but money money money, everything is about money. No it is not! This is an amateur sport played by so called student-athletes. It is just a game; it is not supposed to be professional. #! – College is for education, and for a football coach to be getting paid millions of dollars while a professor makes nto even half that, this is a disgrace. Sports in general is over rated on the college level and should be de-emphasized now. It’s a fraud, posing as a puritan, amateur sport. It is not. I know, I was once a scholar athelte at bigtime college. All you fans that go berserk over a game; tailgate in your SUVs and make the day a do or die situation is truly pathetic to watch, in addition to the huge traffic jams these “games:” cause. Believe me, it is not worth the hype. I college, it is merely a game. College is for learning; to play sports while getting educated is a privilege. A last comment: The pressure to win,win, win, puts way to much pressure on those students that are expected to maintain good grades, and win at all costs. The situation is truly pathetic.
R laVarre – largest portion of coaches salary comes from booster money and corporate sponsorship – Nike. Maybe some of the education departments can pick up a sponsorship. This Econ 10 class is brought to you by Citigroup..(some TA wearing a logo short) Cracked myself up. You learn more about real life situations competing, winning, and especially losing than you would in any class. While I completely agree that it is a privilege to play sports, student athletes, coaches and supporters in general should not be put down by people like you… Sports define UNC just as much as any curriculum does.
Calm down big fella. R laVArre you are getting too uptight about all of this. You are making all kinds of typographical mistakes and leaving out words. And there are some run-on sentences in that rant as well. And its all because of some outrageous idea that athletics have take over UNC. If it makes you feel any better, just know that pressure turns lumps of coal into diamonds.
To the faculty with all due respect: You are worth economically what you bring to the table economically. You condemn those making it all about money, then compare your compensation to an NCAA Div I football coach (a very rare breed, often short term, and high risk/reward job). With regard to pay, professors knew what they expected to make before they signed on.
I would also argue that many of these “student athletes” earn a better education than the vast majority of students. Faculty need to understand that most of the long-term value of your undergraduate education is gained from self management. Any “student-athlete” that can handle that kind of pressure and workload gracefully is impressive in my book.
The argument of “diverging university resources” is interesting. Could the DTH run a story tracking the trend of alumni ACADEMIC donations with respect to recent athletic success? I won’t presume, but I would suspect that there is substantial positive correlation.
Finally, I find it most telling that the faculty specifically target the football program. Given the principle of your argument and the pay many of our other coaches receive, there are several others you should take issue with…but you know better than that.
Big time sports has become a joke, and is totally overrated. This comes from a guy who once played college baseball at USC. I can understand the students going ape shit over a game; that’s cool, that part of the spirit, what I cant take is these so called adults (and I don’t care how rich they are, or what they give) they act like asses with their their little flags waiving from their SUV s, and those cookouts drinking booze, eating burgers and dogs smothered in barbecue. I assume their are getting “psyched” before the game. Pathetic.
On the professional lever, we now have stadiums renamed American Airlines Arena, Citibank Stadium, Fed Ex Stadium, or Broke Bank Stadium, etc. Yet the fans will still go in and pay $8.50 for a Bud Light.
This is an interesting “debate”. I am one of the biggest Carolina supporters in the country. I have been going to Carolina athletic events since before I could walk and now a member of the Ram’s Club. I understand that the faculty feels about the athletic department but my question is where was all of this so called rage when we were the number 3 team in the country in the late 90’s with coach Brown. To me this is all coming from the recent NCAA investigation. Our athletic department brings in a ton of money the option of cutting teams is not an option in my opinion; that puts coaches out of jobs and cost athletes scholarships and ruin academics for them as well. Academics are important that is why these kids come to Carolina. It is stupid and wrong to punish the non revenue side because of the actions of others…thats not the Carolina Way.
There is a solution out there just like how the Cal parents and boosters came together to save Cal baseball. The CAROLINA FAMILY NEEDS TO COME TOGETHER…IT IS THE CAROLINA WAY!!
It is only a game. An amateur game! In the realm of things, this is not an important issue. They spent $70 million upgrading a stadium just so the boosters and VIPS can look cool. In addition, game days cause traffic jams, waste gas, and frankly, is not worth the aggravation. It is just a game!
LOL@R laVarre’s obsession with traffic. You should go occupy Stadium Drive if you’re so concerned. At the very least, I’m willing to bet you’d get some free beer at the very least.
And do you know who “they” are who you speak of? The Blue Zone was funded by donations. I hope you wouldn’t presume to tell others how to spend their money. In addition to the roughly 5,000 new seats added, the building also includes a brand new academic support center for every sport at Carolina, not just the football team. But I guess you’re against that sort of thing, because you think we should give up sports, become Jehovah’s witnesses and start buying up gold bullion as an investment vehicle.
@Tar Heel Born and Bred, the faculty morons were still around, but nobody had the time to listen to their BS. Make no mistake about it: the anti-sports idiots are not a new phenomenon. It’s just that when we were #3, the DTH would never have even considered actually giving these spaced-out wackjobs their moment in the spotlight.
Sounds like someone in this discussion just needs to go Occupy something. See ya at the old Post Office.
People like Rlavarre with endless spelling errors in their rants are a joke, just like the employees of my alma mater whining about me donating money to UNC athletics….in addition to the library, Econ department, etc.
You know, the athletics that got me interested in UNC while growing up far from ACC country, but led to me attending and graduating from UNC unlike this RlaVarre and the employees whining about Butch Davis’ salary.
I believe Dean Smith said “College athletics is the front porch of a University.” UNC can either spruce up its front porch and lawn of its multi-million dollar estate, or it can be a trailer park like where RlaVarre lives by harming UNC athletics with idiotic cuts promoted by these knuckledraggers.
Oh, as a sports fan working on my second masters degree while working full-time, I understand the importance of EDUcation.
@ Jeff Thornton:
You have completely misconstrued Dean Smith’s quote: “Athletics is to the university like the front porch is to a home. It is the most visible part, yet certainly not the most important.”
BR – Quit inventing words which I did not say, something your side does to try to look right and smart in debate.
I said Dean Smith said sports
are the front porch of a university, I did not say he meant that makes sports the top priority.
People like you ignore the importance sports are to getting UNC out front for future students from around the world. I have seen UNC stuff from Australia to Europe…that is not because of the Art degrees at UNC.
What “diversion of important University resources?” The good professor wrongly assumes that funds donated or raised for athletics would be available for his maternal and child health dept. if not spent on sports. I have a better idea. Rather than continue to graduate kids loaded with debt and holding degrees in completely unmarketable disciplines like Women’s Studies, why not eliminate these bogus offerings and their faculty positions with them. And people like R laVarre should go find their ideal school with no athletics instead of trying to change something that existed long before they did here at UNC. Don’t let the door hit ‘ya on your way out and good riddance.
@ Jeff Thornton
If you don’t understand that you’ve misused Smith’s quote, no number of master’s degrees will help you.
As for the charge that I’m “inventing words which [you] did not say,” please note the irony of your post: in your paranoia, you’ve attributed an anti-sports position to a person who simply noted that you butchered the meaning of a quotation by shortening it.
Quit inventing words which I did not say, something your side does to try to look right and smart in debate.
BR- I will bestow upon you a GED if you can prove where I used the Dean Smith quote to say sports are more important to UNC than academics.
Come on, you can do it….and get that GED with a gold border too.
Here’s what you wrote:
“I believe Dean Smith said “College athletics is the front porch of a University.” UNC can either spruce up its front porch and lawn of its multi-million dollar estate, or it can be a trailer park like where RlaVarre lives by harming UNC athletics with idiotic cuts promoted by these knuckledraggers.”
Let’s put aside the selective misuse of the quote and focus on what you wrote. (After all, you only quoted Dean because everyone – caveman football fan or egghead academic alike – respects him). The second sentence implies that UNC is going to turn into a “trailer park” if our athletics suck. Perhaps you meant that our front porch and lawn will turn into a trailer park. If that’s the case, you should revise the sentence to clarify the meaning of “it” – the source of any and all confusion.
Don’t blame me for misunderstanding your poor-to-mediocre writing. You’re not even fit to write for the DTH.
Listen, whether we academics like it or not, the primary customer base for our school at the undergraduate level are high school students. While I would like to think that word about our quality educators and reasonable pricing (for in-state students) spreads like wildfire, I can’t deny that our school’s name recognition comes as much from its world-class medical center as it does from the number of times you hear it being said on ESPN or CBS during March Madness. Yes, we do manage to indoctrinate some Tar Heels at a young age with summer camps at Morehead Planetarium or our many other educational programs, but it would be silly to deny that many more bleed Carolina Blue because of being raised in a “Go to Hell, Duke!” household. In this way, I really do believe that our athletics program does act as our school’s personal advertising agency by representing its name, colors, and values on-and-off the field. However, this situation should come as a double-edged sword to the athletics programs. In spite of countless controversies and scandals, the athletics program continues to grow and be supported by our benefactors, showing a lack of accountability on the part of this program that not only damages its own reputation for these crimes, but the reputation of our academic program. Along these lines, I think a new system must be developed that places more risk on the athletics programs to uphold the standards set forth by the rest of the school such that the short-term goal of championship victories does not outweigh the long-term goal of setting up students (athlete and non-athlete) for future success.
With all that said, I also think that the character of Carolina’s student body has changed quite a bit in the last decade. Complaints about the ticket systems aside, our students don’t seem as interested in our athletics as they did in the past. We can defend our love for Carolina sports as much as we want, but especially in the last five years, the bleachers at our sporting events just aren’t as full as they were during the 80s and 90s. We have become terrible fair-weather fans. Again, I hear whining about “crappy” ticket systems and the like, but honestly, I think that our student body’s priorities have changed. While a strong minority remain diehard, face-painted, stay-to-the-last-minute fans, the majority won’t stay up late so they can go to the game and then study for tomorrow’s test, be bothered to wait in a 3-hour standby line, or even go four hours without pulling out a textbook when the Heels are up or down by 40 points. Now, I don’t judge them for this change.. To some, that may seem like ingratitude, but personally, I see it as a representation of the times. In a period where money has become tight for all, I think the student body has taken its education more seriously and decided that three hours on a Tuesday night are better dedicated to their studies than to watching a basketball game.
So, why did I go on at length about the changing character of students? Because I think it is important to point out that the views and values of these professors are not without merit as their concerns represent the thinking of their students. Yes, I see a certain ridiculousness in the academic side of our institution expecting that donations made to the athletics program should somehow be diverted to them, especially when that money was only given on the promise that it would be used for the athletic program. However, you must understand their frustration at an athletics department that has huge sums of money flowing through it under the premise that this money indirectly serves the University by helping to spread the good word of UNC, while simultaneously dragging our school’s name through the mud with every added accusation of academic fraud brought on by their misplaced priorities.
Amid all the ills of big-time college sports, the single biggest one often goes unmentioned, and that is that not one dollar of UNC’s football or basketball revenue goes to the academic side of the university. Not a dime goes to buying books, paying faculty, supporting scholarships, or enhancing the campus. This is completely outrageous. Where does the money go? To support the other 26 sports to some degree. But how much does it cost to bus the golf team to Raleigh? I could live with all the ills of the professionalization of college sports if some of the money actually went to what the university is supposed to be about — learning. This outrage is al the worse in this terrible time of budget cuts, layoffs, tuition increases, and every other malady the university currently faces. How about an open accounting of the UNC athletic department’s budget? Surely that should be possible at a public university.
BR- No it’s just you are stupid.
Oh, I don’t see writing in the dth as a career move for me, but maybe that is just your low goals in life.
Join the discussion
You Should Know
The Daily Tar Heel reserves the right to remove any comment deemed racially derogatory, inflammatory, or spammatory. Repeat offenders may have their IP address banned from posting future comments. Please be nice.
If this is the first time you've commented, your comment won't appear until you've verified your email address.
Formatting Options:
- Links: "my link":http://my.url.com
- Bold: *something!*
- Italic: _OMG!_
Serving UNC students and the community since 1893
© 2012 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
Flag this comment