utcfan
December 5th, 2008, 06:08 AM
By Joan Garrett--Chattanooga Times Free Press 12/05/2008
UTC athletic director Rick Hart halted his search for a football coach Thursday morning to squash rumors that the school’s sports programs would be eliminated.
Word about the UTC athletic department being placed on the chopping block began to circulate late Wednesday night after the idea was discussed at a University of Tennessee board meeting in Nashville earlier that day.
“Rick came off the road to speak to us so that we wouldn’t have any concerns,” said Jim Horten, a spokesman for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletic department. “He came in to relay to us that it was a suggestion, not an edict, not something voted on or even a recommendation.”
UT Board members say UTC athletics was mentioned among dozens of other possible cuts and that no plans have been made to eliminate the programs.
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“There (were) no conclusions that any of the suggestions were things we wanted to have happen,” said Jim Murphy, vice chairman of the UT Board of Trustees. “We are going to have to do a lot of cutting, but a lot of that is yet to be determined.”
In the last month the UT system has received about 600 suggestions for possible cuts across campuses, said Hank Dye, vice president for public and government relations for the University of Tennessee. Many of those suggestions were read at the committee meeting, he said.
At one point in the meeting, Mr. Murphy said, a comment was read that suggested the board cut the athletic department at UT.
“We solicited comments, and we went over the list of nine pages of comments,” he said.
Board members said the UT program financially was self sufficient, and then committee members and system officials discussed the fact that UTC and UT-Martin’s sports programs were not, he said.
Yet, he said, sports at UTC and UT-Martin were not singled out in the discussion about cost.
Several board members agreed that, though there is a cost to running some athletic programs, there still is value in their existence, Mr. Murphy said.
Amid discussion of cuts and cost savings in Nashville, UTC officials announced a $60,000 cut of the athletic budget as part of a $500,000 cut to the school’s operating budget.
Richard Brown, vice president of finance at UTC, said the cut will affect athletic recruiting efforts, but athletic officials said the university will continue searching for a new football coach.
“The institution has agreed to all plans and expenditures in the coaching search, and the success of our football program is vital to our efforts to achieve our goals,” Mr. Hart said. “I view this as an investment, as well, because football, with the revenues that can be generated, has the greatest potential for a return on our investment.”
While there may have been some initial concern at the possibility of UTC lopping off its sports programs, coaches and athletic department employees weren’t overly concerned, UTC basketball coach John Shulman said.
“I’m usually a panic-type of guy, and I didn’t panic,” Mr. Shulman said. “I just didn’t put a whole lot of stock in it.”
UTC athletic director Rick Hart halted his search for a football coach Thursday morning to squash rumors that the school’s sports programs would be eliminated.
Word about the UTC athletic department being placed on the chopping block began to circulate late Wednesday night after the idea was discussed at a University of Tennessee board meeting in Nashville earlier that day.
“Rick came off the road to speak to us so that we wouldn’t have any concerns,” said Jim Horten, a spokesman for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletic department. “He came in to relay to us that it was a suggestion, not an edict, not something voted on or even a recommendation.”
UT Board members say UTC athletics was mentioned among dozens of other possible cuts and that no plans have been made to eliminate the programs.
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Article: Looking for wins at small costs
Article: Colleges face ‘arms race’ for funds
Article: Lessons learned through athletics ‘invaluable’
Article: Pursuit of higher earning
Article: Football remains king in SEC
“There (were) no conclusions that any of the suggestions were things we wanted to have happen,” said Jim Murphy, vice chairman of the UT Board of Trustees. “We are going to have to do a lot of cutting, but a lot of that is yet to be determined.”
In the last month the UT system has received about 600 suggestions for possible cuts across campuses, said Hank Dye, vice president for public and government relations for the University of Tennessee. Many of those suggestions were read at the committee meeting, he said.
At one point in the meeting, Mr. Murphy said, a comment was read that suggested the board cut the athletic department at UT.
“We solicited comments, and we went over the list of nine pages of comments,” he said.
Board members said the UT program financially was self sufficient, and then committee members and system officials discussed the fact that UTC and UT-Martin’s sports programs were not, he said.
Yet, he said, sports at UTC and UT-Martin were not singled out in the discussion about cost.
Several board members agreed that, though there is a cost to running some athletic programs, there still is value in their existence, Mr. Murphy said.
Amid discussion of cuts and cost savings in Nashville, UTC officials announced a $60,000 cut of the athletic budget as part of a $500,000 cut to the school’s operating budget.
Richard Brown, vice president of finance at UTC, said the cut will affect athletic recruiting efforts, but athletic officials said the university will continue searching for a new football coach.
“The institution has agreed to all plans and expenditures in the coaching search, and the success of our football program is vital to our efforts to achieve our goals,” Mr. Hart said. “I view this as an investment, as well, because football, with the revenues that can be generated, has the greatest potential for a return on our investment.”
While there may have been some initial concern at the possibility of UTC lopping off its sports programs, coaches and athletic department employees weren’t overly concerned, UTC basketball coach John Shulman said.
“I’m usually a panic-type of guy, and I didn’t panic,” Mr. Shulman said. “I just didn’t put a whole lot of stock in it.”