Buying into OU sports

In trying to shed some light on the budgetary problems of Ohio University athletics, I found a 2006 internal audit of OU Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) that listed areas where significant amounts of money could be saved. The report showed that OU’s athletics budget exceeded estimated expenditures by more than $1 million in each of the last two years.

Part of this was due to increased discretionary spending because of lack of control over credit cards. Money spent for supplies, travel and entertainment, communication and maintenance commonly exceeded initial estimates made at the beginning of each fiscal year. In many cases, expense forms were not filled out until after money was spent. In addition, more than $66,000 in travel advances was not accounted for at the time of the audit. OU did not log mileage of university vehicles, which could be claimed on tax forms.

In addition, the audit claimed that OU wasted money on major sports projects. According to the report, the ICA put football and basketball programs above the bottom line, making expensive deals whereby OU would play at major division one schools for two of three years, while the opposing team would come to OU only once. Major capital projects, such as the lowering of Peden Stadium, did not receive adequate funds from outside donors, increasing the amount the university had to spend on the project. Finally OU added three sports in the past seven years.