E-mail from Joel Maturi to Gopher fans

[GopherHole Staff]

E-mail from Joel Maturi to Gopher fans:

I recently had the honor of meeting with a number of great Gophers during a trip to Florida. I had good conversations with letterwinners, alumni and donors on many topics, including the financing of big time college athletics. Based on the interest of many, I want to use this month's email to bring you up to speed on the topic of the Gopher Athletics budget - where we have been, where we are today, and a look into our financial future.

The budget for Gophers Athletics has received its fair share of media coverage in recent months with varying degrees of accuracy. The bottom line is that Gopher Athletics has operated with a balanced budget since my arrival in 2002.

We have faced a number of financial challenges during this time. Shortly before my arrival, it was documented that Gopher Athletics faced a $31 million accumulated deficit that led to the recommendation for the elimination of three sports. Thanks to the diligent efforts of many, we were able to raise the necessary $3 million to avoid the elimination of the sports and the $31M deficit never materialized.

Over the past eight years, revenue generation has emerged as one of Gopher Athletics' real success stories. By increasing revenues, we have been able to continue to fund all sports and provide the financial support that allows them to be competitive at both the conference and national level. Without question, providing the appropriate funds for our 25 sports, all facilities and support units is the biggest challenge we face each year.

In 2002-03, the budget for Gopher Athletics was $47.5 million. Today, thanks to new revenues from TCF Bank Stadium, contracts with Learfield Sports Properties and Nike, increases in television, bowl and NCAA basketball revenue and donations to our Golden Gopher Fund, we were able to fund a $76.7 million budget for 2010-11. This represents an overall growth of revenues of 61 percent.

These increased revenues have allowed us to support a broad-based 25 sport athletic program and also increase support for the revenue-generating sports of football, men's basketball and men's hockey. We have invested back into these sports with significant budget increases.

2002-03 2009-10 2009-10 Rank
Football $7.4M $17.5M 7th in Big Ten, 29th in nation
Men's Basketball $2.3M $5.7M 4th in Big Ten
Men's Hockey $1.4M $2.3M Top three in country

A fact that may not be well known, however, is that we've been able to increase the financial support for all programs while at the same time facing considerable reductions in University funding. The University's financial support for athletics has dropped significantly over the past eight years.

Dollars from University % of overall Athletics budget
2002-03 $6.8M 14%
2010-11 $2.3M 3%

Athletics reliance on dollars from the University has been reduced 60% over the past eight years and the reduction in support will likely continue given the tough economic times for the state of Minnesota. University support is projected to drop to $1.9 million next year. We will continue to manage these reductions, drive incremental revenue and make sure that we have a viable, long-range financial plan that will allow Gopher Athletics to be successful over the next 5-7 years.

The fiscal pressures on collegiate athletics departments will continue to grow. Gopher Athletics continues to build upon our progress in revenue generation and expense management in support of the entire 25-sport athletic program. Safeguarding the financial health of Gopher Athletics is the key element in helping our student-athletes achieve their athletic and academic goals.

I appreciate you taking the time to allow me to share this financial information on Gopher Athletics. Your continued support and generosity make a huge difference for our sports teams and our student-athletes. We could not do it without you.

Go Gophers!

Joel Maturi
Director of Athletics

 

[The Pope of Dinkytown]

Great job, Joel. The U's athletics program has never been in better shape. We need you to stick around for another ten years. I hope the new guy understands this and gives you the opportunity.

 

[HouseOfHagen]

Maturi is a genius and an exceptional AD.

 

[Golden Elephant]

I got the email and was going to start a thread, but I see the staff beat me to it.

This email is just classic. I mean actually in total, it's somewhat admirable that Maturi doesn't hide the fact that athletics is supported by the general U administration. But still, as a taxpayer who is paying for this crap it still bugs me that the athletic dept is getting general U funds at all.

Here's what had me chuckling:
"The bottom line is that Gopher Athletics has operated with a balanced budget since my arrival in 2002"
Well yes Joel, but as you point out - you're getting millions from the U. It's like saying, I'm totally financially independent while really your mom slips you hundreds of dollars/month.

"fact that may not be well known, however, is that we've been able to increase the financial support for all programs while at the same time facing considerable reductions in University funding."
Why do you need University funding at all??!!! You just increased revenue by nearly $30M in 7 years (61+%) and you still need $2M/year from the U?! Please, please don't tell me you had to have all those expenses. Do you really need seven (7!) associate AD's?

It actually looks like the U is going to ultimately cut their support down to 0 in a few years - which is good - but with the massive increase in revenue in the past few years, there's no reason they couldn't have done it already.

Listen, I love Gopher football and Gopher athletics in general. I've been a season ticket holder for 16 years, since my first year as a student. But the U of M administration in general is a huge bureaucratic mess, and the athletic department administration is no exception.

The athletic dept has done a nice job increasing revenue in the past few years, and Maturi certainly deserves some of the credit - though the big TV contracts and a lot of the other stuff fell into his lap. But still, why are my taxpayer dollars supporting a $70M operation?

 

[RodentRampage]

Only a small percentage of the U's funding comes from the state. And the parking revenues for games doesn't go to the athletics department. If the athletics department got the gameday parking revenue, there wouldn't be any money coming from general funds. Moving some money from general funds to the athletics department isn't an example of the taxpayer funding the athletics department, it's just paperwork shuffling. That gameday parking revenue wouldn't be there at all if it wasn't for the games.

 

[Lakeville Goldy]

I guess I've never argued that Joel Maturi hasn't done a good job of handling the finances of the atheletic department, but his personnel selection and handling of the firing of said personnel has been atrocious.

 

[Ole]

I guess I've never argued that Joel Maturi hasn't done a good job of handling the finances of the atheletic department, but his personnel selection and handling of the firing of said personnel has been atrocious.

Which has cost the department alot of money.
The guy's a clown, period.
This email is a joke, it basically is Joel on his knees trying to give people a reason not to rip the H out of him, because..because..I HAVE KEPT GOOD BOOKS IN THE DEPARTMENT!

Awesome.
You did part of your job competently.
Congrats.

 

[4four4]

I hate to break it to you guys but balancing the budget is way more important to the regents and the president than winning fb, bb, or hockey games.

 

[matt]

I hate to break it to you guys but balancing the budget is way more important to the regents and the president than winning fb, bb, or hockey games.

+1

People look for any reason to rip Joel. This is not one of them.

 

[howeda7]

At least he didn't mention the award he won for most wins/budget $. I'll give him point for restraint.

 

[Ole]

I hate to break it to you guys but balancing the budget is way more important to the regents and the president than winning fb, bb, or hockey games.

Then he should have sent them this stupid email update, not to fans who mostly think he's a failure.

 

[buckshotmike]

Missing the real point

Shouldn't the question be asked why, if the U is spending so much money on athletics when compared to other programs, the results don't match the costs?

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

How much of the admin payments are quid pro quo payments for parking from Parking Services?

 

[Go4Broke]

Shouldn't the question be asked why, if the U is spending so much money on athletics when compared to other programs, the results don't match the costs?

Of course the question should be asked. But the answer you are going to get from the people who run the U is their overall athletic program is one of the strongest in the country. And somebody might mention to you that during the time Maturi has been AD the only Big 10 team with more NCAA championships than the Gophers is Penn State. The U President and Board of Regents define success differently, and have different priorities than many GopherHolers. For starters, they have to deal with a Republican controlled State Legislature which is trying to disembowel the U and turn it into St. Cloud State.

 

[Formo]

Of course the question should be asked. But the answer you are going to get from the people who run the U is their overall athletic program is one of the strongest in the country. And somebody might mention to you that during the time Maturi has been AD the only Big 10 team with more NCAA championships than the Gophers is Penn State. The U President and Board of Regents define success differently, and have different priorities than many GopherHolers. For starters, they have to deal with a Republican controlled State Legislature which is trying to disembowel the U and turn it into St. Cloud State.

Probably because the U is the home of everything liberal? That's a 'DERP' comment if I ever saw one.

What I really want to see is how much the other B1G schools general funds go to their respective athletic depts.

 

[sec105]

Joel said...These increased revenues have allowed us to support a broad-based 25 sport athletic program...

It's totally ridiculous that we need to run a 25 sport athletic department when 22 of the 25 sports don't generate a single dime to the over all revenue of the Gopher athletic program. Sending the swimming team to Hawaii and the Gymnastics team to Las Vegas not to mention the baseball team spending virtually all of March in California is a total waste of money.

It would be a lot easier to maintain the women's sport programs that are required to satisfy Title 9 and dump the rest of the non revenue sports starting with baseball. The only people who go to Gopher baseball games are friends and family.

It will be much easier to balance the budget if some money draining non revenue sports are eliminated. JMO

 

[4four4]

It's totally ridiculous that we need to run a 25 sport athletic department when 22 of the 25 sports don't generate a single dime to the over all revenue of the Gopher athletic program. Sending the swimming team to Hawaii and the Gymnastics team to Las Vegas not to mention the baseball team spending virtually all of March in California is a total waste of money.

It would be a lot easier to maintain the women's sport programs that are required to satisfy Title 9 and dump the rest of the non revenue sports starting with baseball. The only people who go to Gopher baseball games are friends and family.

It will be much easier to balance the budget if some money draining non revenue sports are eliminated. JMO

The baseball team did NOT want to play virtually the whole month of March in California. They were forced to.

 

[littlebigboy]

Sec 105, ignorant comment. Most of the non-rev.sports athletes become very successful after college and are some of the biggest donors to the U. They don't have the prospect of a big pro pay day so they are true student athletes,and most donate back.

 

[ryanlee1]

What did the letter look like that Maturi sent to the Big Ten's successful athletic programs whose coattails he currently rides?
I have a feeling the budget would not work as well without Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, etc bringing in the revenue.

 

[4four4]

What did the letter look like that Maturi sent to the Big Ten's successful athletic programs whose coattails he currently rides?
I have a feeling the budget would not work as well without Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, etc bringing in the revenue.

Huh? Are you a New York Yankees or Dallas Cowboys fan? It takes two.

 

[TAW]

I got the email and was going to start a thread, but I see the staff beat me to it.

This email is just classic. I mean actually in total, it's somewhat admirable that Maturi doesn't hide the fact that athletics is supported by the general U administration. But still, as a taxpayer who is paying for this crap it still bugs me that the athletic dept is getting general U funds at all.

Here's what had me chuckling:
"The bottom line is that Gopher Athletics has operated with a balanced budget since my arrival in 2002"
Well yes Joel, but as you point out - you're getting millions from the U. It's like saying, I'm totally financially independent while really your mom slips you hundreds of dollars/month.

"fact that may not be well known, however, is that we've been able to increase the financial support for all programs while at the same time facing considerable reductions in University funding."
Why do you need University funding at all??!!! You just increased revenue by nearly $30M in 7 years (61+%) and you still need $2M/year from the U?! Please, please don't tell me you had to have all those expenses. Do you really need seven (7!) associate AD's?

It actually looks like the U is going to ultimately cut their support down to 0 in a few years - which is good - but with the massive increase in revenue in the past few years, there's no reason they couldn't have done it already.

Listen, I love Gopher football and Gopher athletics in general. I've been a season ticket holder for 16 years, since my first year as a student. But the U of M administration in general is a huge bureaucratic mess, and the athletic department administration is no exception.

The athletic dept has done a nice job increasing revenue in the past few years, and Maturi certainly deserves some of the credit - though the big TV contracts and a lot of the other stuff fell into his lap. But still, why are my taxpayer dollars supporting a $70M operation?

I think you fail to take into account the value the athletic program can bring to the University as a whole. Like it or not, athletics are much more visible than academic programs. Seeing clips of an athlete on ESPN brings more publicity to the university than a Nobel Prize. It may not seem right, but that is the truth. Athletics can help make a university stronger. It is unfair to look only at what taxpayer dollars contribute to athletics without looking at what athletics contribute to the general coffers of the university.