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| |
OU ATHLETIC DIRECTOR EXPLAINS THE
DECISION
Director
of Athletics Kirby Hocutt's Remarks
[Bold type emphasis, aside from paragraph
headings, inserted by SaveOUSports.Org]
[Information
disputing the Athletic Director's positions and providing some additional
enlightening facts also appears in brackets.]
Statement
made at January 25 press conference
Jan. 25,
2007
Good morning.
Our mission at Ohio University Athletics is to inspire, develop and support Ohio
University student-athletes in their pursuit of academic and athletic
excellence.
This is a
superb mission. Yet we're before you today with less than pleasant news about
the present position of our Department of Athletics at Ohio University.
Specifically,
we're here today to publicly address the state of Ohio Athletics. We are
operating as a Division I-A program that serves and supports the educational
mission of Ohio University, and serves as a source of pride for the University,
the Athens community and the State of Ohio. Yet we're faced and will talk about
the significant issues that have been present at Ohio Athletics for many years.
We are then
going to present you with a significant decision that has been made to reconcile
these issues. This is a significant decision because it affects people's lives.
This decision
marks a turning point in our program and it has received the unanimous support
of our President, and each member of our athletics department executive staff.
Today, we take the first steps towards resolving those issues. In that sense
this is an important day in the history of our program.
I'm confident
that you'll find that our research has been comprehensive. We've had some of the
most respected individuals working to address these issues. We've used
discretion, and we've been respectful throughout this process. Yet everyone
associated with our university has a right to know where we stand. While we have
been very sensitive to being respectful, there are no secrets here.
To begin, we
have three issues that have hamstrung our program for years:
1.
The financial position of our department, specifically we've been
operating at a deficit for many years.
["As for the issue of the budget deficit, ... Yes, the Ohio
University Athletic Department has built up a $4 million deficit over the years.
This is not something that happened overnight. Didn't anyone notice?"]
["Aside from that, you have to ask: what impact would cutting men's
swimming have on the deficit? It turns out that the incremental cost of having a
men's swim team -- in addition to the women's team -- comes to roughly $35,000 a
year. Let's see: at $35,000 a year, it would only take a bit more than 114 years
to erase the deficit. And, that's assuming zero inflation and zero interest on
the debt."]
["On top of that, we have learned that even as the A.D. is crying
"poverty," he plans to move on with building a $20 million indoor
football practice facility. When asked, he says "most" of the $20
million will come from "private donations." But he's unclear about how
much "most" is. It could be just pennies more than $10 million. Or it
might be 11 to 12 million, or maybe even 15. Whatever it is, it will only add to
the deficit, perhaps doubling or even tripling it."]
["As a former college professor, I would have to give the OU administration
an "F" for research and transparency."]
[SaveOUSports.Org note: We hope to have additional material to add in this
space on Lacrosse and Track and Field soon. Please check back
periodically.]
2.
It's obvious that because of our financial position, we were not
providing our student-athletes with the high-quality experience that is expected
at Ohio University.
[Among other
statistics that we are now studying, the Athletic Director claims that OU ranks
111th nationally out of 118 NCAA Division I schools in its spending for women
athletes as one of the reasons why OU believes it must take this
action. We do not dispute this figure. He claims this low
level of spending contributes to less than a "quality sports
experience" for these athletes.]
[What the AD does not tell you is that
so many young women compete for OU without scholarship funding, and do so
willingly, that OU does not need to spend much on their sports. Many of
these young women are from out-of-state and pay over 200% of in-state resident
tuition, a substantial contribution to OU's non-athletic funds.]
[From the Athletic Director's comments, we infer that the financial analysis
performed was done only on those sports that are not required for membership in
the Mid-America Conference. His statement that causes us to believe this,
and which appears further below, is: "There are six programs that you are mandated to
sponsor for membership in the Mid-American Conference -- football, men's and
women's basketball, softball, baseball, and volleyball. Outside of those six
programs we looked at each and every program. We looked at the financial
position of each program."]
[Why were these
'MAC-required' sports not included in what is claimed to be a comprehensive financial
analysis? Clearly, it can be reasonably assumed that in an Athletic
Department with financial woes, ALL sports programs should be analyzed
carefully. If these MAC-required sports were excluded from budgetary
analysis and were not subjected to the same analytical criteria applied to the
non-required sports, it is completely possible that there exist in those
programs budget savings opportunities that can be used to help all OU sports
programs, especially to save those sports being cut.]
[This leads any
rational observer to conclude that the Athletic Department does not wish to find
possible savings in these sports and may, in fact, plan to use the money from
the dissolved teams to spend further on these favored sports.]
[At the end
of the 2005-2006 academic year, graduating senior athletes were required to fill
out a questionnaire about their sports experience at OU. We hope to obtain
a copy of it in our official requests for information. It appears that
coaches, who then apparently did not know that their programs might be
terminated, synopsized these comments in reporting to the AD -- read their
comments in this official OU document -- Click
here.]
[The students were apparently told they would not "get their
diplomas" if they did not fill out and submit the questionnaires, an
"or else" directive that professional pollsters would avoid as
injecting into a questionnaire process an element of pressure that could be
resented by respondents.]
[Graduating
athletes we've spoken to believed their candor about deficiencies in their
athletic programs would be used to help improve those programs for those
athletes still in the programs. Instead, it appears that their comments
were used to justify terminating the programs they loved and worked so hard to
advance. They criticized OU for, among other things, insufficient money
for better conditions while traveling to away competitions. These same
items appear as justification for claiming that OU's sports experience was
deficient.]
[If using these student athlete comments to cut their sports was the
purpose of this questionnaire, and if they were not told this might be a
consequence of their statements, then the students were misled. None of
the graduating athletes who filled out this questionnaire with whom we have
spoken say they were told this.]
[From a signer of "Bring Back Ohio University Sports" online petition
(see
petition at this link): Signature 1228: "I can’t imagine
that so many of these kids are fighting to save programs in which they are
having sub-par experiences. My guess is that most of these kids are top
performers in the classroom as well as on the athletic field. And my guess is
that most of these kids are also some of the most successful graduates after
they leave O.U."]
[From another signer of "Bring Back Ohio University Sports" online
petition (see
petition at this link): Signature 1932: "It seems the
directors want to instead offer fewer programs, and spend more money on top
notch facilities and amenities. Students go to Stanford for that; students go to
OU to compete."]
3.
We face the continuous challenge of complying with Title IX. I'm sure you
heard of Title IX - it is the federal mandate that guarantees all Americans the
rights to education regardless of gender. Since its inception in 1972, this law
has had its most profound impact on intercollegiate athletics.
[From an interview with Phil Whitten, Executive Director of the College
Swimming Coaches Association of America. Full
text at this link:]
[The University said [the cuts] were being done to comply with Title IX, and
because of a $4 million deficit the department has accumulated over the years.]
[Yes, that's what they said. Now let's look at the facts. Actually, there are
two major reasons why this decision fails to stand up to scrutiny. Let's look at
each of them.]
[First, the University is not out of compliance with Title IX according to
the Women's Sports Foundation, probably the leading advocate for Title IX
adherence.]
[Last year, Ohio University ranked first out of the 119 Division I
schools in Title IX compliance. This year, it ranks 21st – still better than
more than 80 percent of Division I schools. So why does the athletic director
maintain that his department is not in compliance? I believe there are only two
possible explanations: Either his analysis was seriously flawed or there was a
deliberate attempt to misstate the facts. End of interview excerpt.]
[Myles
Brand, the President of the NCAA, said recently. "I certainly hope no
University cuts sports to comply with Title IX. There are always alternatives.
The NCAA is always ready and able to work with an athletics department to
identify acceptable alternatives to cutting sports. It should not be the case
that men's participation opportunities are diminished to comply with Title
IX."]
["Second, OCR [Office for Civil Rights, US Dept. of Education] hereby
clarifies that nothing in Title IX requires the cutting or reduction of teams in
order to demonstrate compliance with Title IX, and that the elimination of teams
is a disfavored practice."]
[OU has apparently chosen one of three tests allowed under Title IX to determine
its compliance. We have been informed by people familiar with Title IX that
the other tests would be relatively easier to meet but OU apparently chose the
most difficult so it could justify cutting teams.]
"[Ohio University] Officials acknowledged that substantial proportionality
could also have been achieved by adding more opportunities for women, but the
athletic department deficits precluded this possibility. For the details,
I returned to the same Department of Education data, and found that Ohio
University's football program cost $1.9 million last year; all other men's
sports combined cost about $1 million; and all women's sports combined cost $2.2
million. That works out to a per student subsidy of $17,757 for each
football player; $3968 for each non-football male athlete (this number reflects
that men's basketball made a $300,000 profit); and $8527 for each female
athlete."]
In
the past year, we've had to face these issues head on. We acknowledge that we
couldn't move forward without addressing each of these. If we do not address
each one of these issues our entire athletics program will be at risk.
You
should know that our priorities include the following:
-
We
remain committed to supporting the educational mission of the University.
-
We
remain committed to the mission of the Department of Athletics.
-
We
remain committed to the welfare of the student-athlete and providing each
and every student-athlete with a quality experience.
We
remain committed to winning the right way.
Again, we
make the tough decision today OR we place the entire program at risk.
That
being said, we are announcing today that we are dissolving at the conclusion of
their 2007 seasons -
-
Men's
swimming and diving
-
Men's
indoor & outdoor track
-
Women's
lacrosse
This
decision directly affects eight coaches and nearly 100 student-athletes. These
individuals are our first concern. Right now, they are our primary concern.
We'll do everything possible to remain sensitive to their situation and assist
them during this transition period.
As
such, those student-athletes who plan to stay and complete their undergraduate
education at Ohio University will continue to receive aid at their current
scholarship levels for a period equal to their remaining eligibility. We'll also
do everything we can to help those student-athletes wishing to transfer to
another institution to continue their athletic careers. I've spoken with my
colleagues in the Mid-American Conference and others throughout the nation that
have been through a similar situation, unfortunately, and they've given us some
insights and recommendations about how to address this issue.
Let's
transition for a moment to the issues and information leading up to this
decision.
This
decision follows hundreds of hours of comprehensive research and study over an
extended period of time on the part of my staff, department advisors and others
within the University.
Financial
Challenges:
Upon my appointment as Athletics Director 17 months ago, I received a
presidential mandate to operate our athletics department within our available
resources - to be fiscally responsible. Ohio Athletics faces significant budget
challenges over the next three to five years. At the present time, our resources
are simply not adequate to provide a quality experience for the number of
programs and student-athletes that we are serving.
In
2005, the Division I Financial Report (prepared by Athletics Financial Services)
indicated that Ohio University sponsored the second-largest athletic program in
the Mid-American Conference and the 39th-largest program in Division I-A in
terms of the total sports that we sponsored. (In 2005, there were 118 Division
I-A programs). We had 20 sports programs. Yet our athletics budget was in the
bottom half of the conference.
That
report ranked Ohio University 10th out of 12 in the MAC and 105th nationally in
Division I-A for the total expenses we spent per sport.
If
you break it down by looking at our women's sports programs, our total operating
expenses ranked ninth in the MAC and 107th nationally.
Our
women's operating expenses if reviewed by sport, ranked 10th in the MAC and
108th nationally.
Take
one step further and look at our expenses per female student-athlete, and we
ranked 11th, next to last in the MAC, and 111th nationally.
In
the operation of our men's program, our total operating expenses ranked 11th,
next to last in the MAC and 113th nationally
Our
men's operation expenses if reviewed by sport, ranked last in the MAC, and 114th
nationally.
Taking
it one step further to look at our expenses per male student-athlete, we ranked
last in the MAC and 114th nationally.
Simply
put, our expenses exceed our financial resources. We have a significant
financial challenge and pretending it doesn't exist will sink the entire
program. We will have an accumulated operating deficit of over $4 million this
fiscal year. Had we not made this decision and things were to proceed on this
same course, we projected our deficit would expand to over $7 million by 2010.
The
decision to eliminate four sports does not solve our financial situation, but it
is one of the first steps to a long-term recovery plan. You should know, after
these four sports are dissolved, Ohio will offer the 16 sports necessary to
remain a Division I-A program.
We
are focused and working diligently to develop a sustainable business model in
which we can grow and provide a quality experience for our student-athletes.
Providing
a Quality Experience:
Ohio University is committed to providing a quality experience for each and
every student-athlete that competes for the Bobcats. We will accept nothing
short of providing all of our student-athletes with a positive environment to
achieve their academic and athletic aspirations. We will operate our program
within a Division I-A environment and accept nothing less.
Unfortunately,
our financial position has prohibited us from providing the level of experience
that is expected at Ohio University.
We
have made some significant advancements capitalizing on revenue opportunities:
The
Ohio Bobcat Club, our recently introduced annual-giving program has increased
unrestricted donations by 73 percent in 2006, still not enough but a significant
improvement.
[Please
see letter to President McDavis and AD Hocutt from a prominent alum about
this alumni giving campaign objecting to the fact that donors were not told of
financial problems that might result in dropping sports.]
Tickets
are another area, and there's no better sales tool than a winning program.
Football season ticket sales are up 88 percent over the last two years and men's
basketball season ticket sales are up 50 percent this year. Clearly we're making
progress and driving hard.
Corporate
Marketing - we expanded our existing partnership with ISP Sports recently,
resulting in a guaranteed 54 percent increase in revenue over next four
years.
There
is much to be done, but we are moving in the right direction.
Title
IX
Today, Ohio University is committed to compliance Title IX. It is committed to
compliance with this federal statute that guarantees equal rights to everyone
regardless of gender. There are three ways to comply with Title IX.
1. The level of intercollegiate athletic participation opportunities for men
and women students are provided in numbers substantially proportionate to their
respective enrollments.
2. The institution can show
a history and continuing practice of program expansion for its underrepresented
athletic program.
3. The institution can demonstrate that the interest and abilities of the
members of the underrepresented gender have been fully and effectively
accommodated by the present program.
In
1995, Ohio University adopted a gender equity plan that called for the addition
of three women's programs. The following three women's programs were added:
1997
- Women's soccer
1998 - Women's golf
1999 - Women's lacrosse
In
May 2001, as a follow up to their 1998 review, the NCAA requested Ohio
University submit a report indicating its plan to continue compliance with Title
IX. Representatives from Ohio University developed a revised gender equity plan
indicating a fourth women's sport would be, and I quote, "definitively
determined on or before September 1, 2002." This never happened, and the
plan was never acted upon.
Simply
put, Ohio Intercollegiate Athletics has not met our goal of compliance with
Title IX, and due to our financial position, we cannot add a women's program.
[Phil Whitten above offered a reasonable suggestion -- add a women's water
polo team using existing women swimmers and divers at a marginal cost] This leaves us, as it has seven other MAC Institutions since 1999, to take the
necessary measures of dissolving sport programs to continue our commitment to
compliance with this federal statute.
Our
need to comply with Title IX is not a new issue for this department to deal
with. Again, this is an issue that existed over seven years ago and still has
not been met. We can not delay action any longer. This decision today is one of
the first steps in development of a comprehensive gender equity plan that will
assist in guiding our decision making in the future.
We've
made an extremely difficult decision that will ultimately place us in the very
best position to be successful in the future.
[Similar words were
used by the Butler AD as he explained their decision to
drop lacrosse. See the "Other
'Trashed' Sports Programs" page on this site immediately after the
first article]
In
closing, I want to give you my personal assurance that we will do our very best
in the future planning for Ohio Athletics. We will have an organized and
well-planned department.
I'm
humbled to say that even now, in the midst of this difficult news, we need to
support each other more than ever. I ask our staff, coaches, student-athletes,
fans, alumni, faculty and student body to support each other as we go through
this challenging time.
Working
together we can achieve our goals and continue to bring credit to this great
university.
See video of Athletic Director's
announcement - Click on this link:
Quotes
from Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt
[Bold type emphasis, aside from paragraph
headings, inserted by
SaveOUSports.Org]
Ohio AD answers questions from
media at Jan. 25 press conference
Jan. 25, 2007
On the amount of savings to the
budget:
"If we were to realize all of the financial savings from scholarships
immediately, the elimination of these four sports would have an annual savings
of $685,000 to our operating budget (not just scholarship dollars). There are
about 50 student-athletes that are freshman, sophomores or juniors that are
currently on financial aid that have the opportunity to stay at Ohio and
complete their undergraduate degree.
On the types of scholarships for
these sports:
"They are equivalency sports."
On why these sports were chosen:
"In 2006, our department was audited by the university internal audit. That
happens once every five years. In that report, it was noted that we simply did
not have the available resources to continue to operate and serve the number of
programs and young people we were trying to serve. In May of 2006, we also
brought in a consultant and expert in Title IX and gender equity, a gentleman
who spent over 20 years in the office of civil rights, to review our program. It
became obvious very quickly that we were not in compliance with Title IX."
"At the same time, we were
conducting our own research internally with the office of university finance to
better understand the history of the financial situation of this department and
also look at projections and trends for the next five years. We also
assembled an advisory group to assist us in reviewing this data and information.
It was made up of a trustee, a former trustee, two former student-athletes, a
faculty athletic representative, a dean from Ohio University, as well as the
Vice President for University Finance. With those four steps and that
process, it became obvious that change was going to happen."
"After that we looked at a
number of different pieces of information. We looked at the financial position
of each and every program. There are six programs that you are mandated to
sponsor for membership in the Mid-American Conference -- football, men's and
women's basketball, softball, baseball, and volleyball. Outside of those six
programs we looked at each and every program. We looked at the financial
position of each program. We looked at Title IX considerations for each program.
We looked at competitive success for each program. We looked at the number of
institutions in our conference that were sponsoring those particular sport
programs. We looked at local and regional high school participation numbers and
ultimately, what we believed was in the best interest of Ohio University.
On whether the current athletics
budget is enough for what wants to be accomplished:
"This is the first step in a long-term recovery plan. We are working on
that plan, and we have got a ways to go to put us in a position where we need to
be. We have to continue to grow our department-generated revenue, and we're
going to be very aggressive in that manner. At the same time, we will be going
through the university budgeting process. It is our hopes that as we move
forward, we will be in a much better financial position for this department. I
am confident that we will."
On the timing of the decision:
"There is never a good time to make this decision. There is never a good
time. Why today? Our deficit continues to grow. We have not met our goal of
compliance with Title IX. That's why today. There is not a good time to make an
announcement like this."
On any projections of being out
of the current financial deficit:
"This is the first step in a long-term recovery plan, and we have a lot of
work to do. We've got to continue to develop that plan and put it in place. I'm
confident that we can have a plan in place so by 2011 that we can operate with a
balanced budget."
On what alternatives were
considered:
"We looked at ultimately what it was going to require for us to operate in
a manner in which we currently operate. It was apparent very quickly that,
financially, that was not feasible for us giving what we learned. Based on that
fact it became obvious that elimination was the option we were going to have to
strongly consider. We spent numerous months looking at different options and the
best way to address the issues that we faced."
On why the student-athletes were
not consulted before making the decision:
"Our accumulated operating deficit has built up over the past four years.
We are focused on providing our student-athletes with the academic and athletic
opportunities that you came here to receive. The finances and ultimate
administration of this program is delegated to the athletics administration.
That's the appropriate place that it belongs."
In response to a question posed
about published reports that Ohio is ranked first or second in the nation in
Title IX compliance:
"That's incorrect. As I said, at this time our department has not met
compliance with Title IX and has not been in compliance for some time. This
decision brings us into compliance with that federal law. The information that
you're referring to was published in the Chronicle of Higher Education a number
of years ago, and it discussed the percent of our athletics budget that was
dedicated and devoted to women's athletics. That ranked us second in the
country. That is not compliance with the federal law. When I arrived at Ohio
University, I had read that article. I expected that we would be in compliance
with Title IX. When I arrived and saw the facts and the situation, I knew there
were issues which prompted us to bring in an outside expert and consultant to
review our program."
On utilizing roster-size
management techniques to also help Title IX compliance:
"Yes, we will implement an existing roster management system that we
visited with our head coaches about this morning. Through these cuts, as well as
the roster management program, we will be in compliance with Title IX."
On whether or not any other
programs will be cut:
"We now sponsor 16 athletic programs. You are required to sponsor 16
athletic program to be Division I-A. That's where we are, so no, there will be
no further cuts."
On whether other programs going
to have to cut their budget:
"I'm committed to growing this athletics program and this athletics
budget."
On Track & Field Head Coach Clay
Calkins and Swimming & Diving Head Coach Greg
Werner:
"I've asked Coach Calkins and his staff and Coach Werner and his staff to
remain as our head coaches and their staffs as assistant coaches of our track
and swimming programs. We talked about equality issues right? It's important to
note that our men's and women's track & field program and our men's and
women's swimming & diving program have each had three full-time coaches. Per
NCAA rules, you're permitted to have as many as six coaches in each of those
sports. So you could have three coaches for your women's track program and you
could have three coaches for your men's track program. Our student-athlete to
coach ratio has not been at the level that is permissible by the NCAA or at the
level that is believed to provide the highest quality of experience for the
young people in your program. So, I've asked them to remain on as our coaches
and at their current salary level."
On how incoming student-athletes
who have signed National Letters of Intent to compete in 2007-08 will be
handled:
"If a young person has signed a National Letter of Intent with Ohio
University, we are prepared to honor that binding agreement."
On the amount of the financial
deficit:
"At the end of this fiscal year, it is projected to be over $4
million."
On the current operating budget
of the athletic department:
"This year our annual operating budget is $14.7 million, operating 20
sports and serving over 600 student-athletes."
| |
DROPPED
TEAMS
2006
Women's Lacrosse Team
Swimming
and Diving
and
Track
and Field
|
