The chasm between have-not schools and the elite
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JACKSONVILLE — The ESPN College Gameday set isn’t likely to sprout up at Paul Snow Stadium next year. Barring a March miracle, the Gamecocks probably won’t unveil their first NCAA Division I men’s basketball banner either. Have-not teams and conferences, like Jacksonville State in the Ohio Valley Conference, face a chasm between them and elite programs on the other side of the athletic-spending arms race. University of Alabama’s profitable status — one of 23 such programs last year — allowed the school to lure Nick Saban with a $4 million annual salary. JSU subsidizes its entire athletic program with about half that amount in university money — about $2 million every year to stay afloat. When the NCAA signed its first billion-dollar television contract in 1991, it devised a plan for conference payouts based on previous success in the men’s basketball tournament. For 2007, the SEC, which regularly sends teams to the Final Four, will get $13.1 million. The OVC, whose representative is regularly bounced by a powerhouse in the first round, will get $1.06 million. The OVC tied for the lowest amount with the Big South, Mid-Continent, Northeast, Southern and Southwestern conferences and the Ivy League. According to NCAA information, JSU ranks 12th among public schools in how much money it gives its athletic department. Central Michigan University leads the way with $3.4 million; 80 schools reported no direct contributions. The University of Arkansas was the SEC’s only school to report subsidizing athletics. The school separates its men’s and women’s programs and provided about $900,000 for women’s sports in 2006. JSU was one of 28 schools that reported collecting no student fees to support athletics, which often allow students free entry to games. Eight SEC schools collect student fees, including Alabama at about $2.5 million and leader Mississippi State at $3.1 million. James Madison University leads the nation with $17.8 million in student fees. In compensation for coaches, JSU’s Jack Crowe earns $150,000 annually, 3.75 percent of Saban’s contract. Crowe earns more than JSU athletic director Jim Fuller’s $110,074, but less than President Bill Meehan’s yearly take of $199,500. At Alabama, Saban’s $4 million salary is eight times that of UA System Chancellor Mac Portera and UA President Robert Witt. |
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