And after Houston hired coaches who developed and winning programs, the athletic department has started to lean less on university subsidies.
In 2016-17, Houston’s donations were nearly 350 percent higher than they were in 2009. Contributions, combined with football revenue, accounted for 36 percent of the school’s total revenue, an increase in nearly 20 percent from Cloud’s first year on campus. That could be something a potential suitor looks at when evaluating Houston during the next realignment period.
Kevin Weiberg, the Pac-12’s deputy commissioner when it expanded in 2011, said it’s important for conferences to see a commitment from donors as well as the university. Before the Pac-12 added Utah (formerly of the Mountain West), Weiberg said there was a feeling Utah’s revenues were going to improve and resemble its future peers once the Utes joined.
“If you went back and looked back at them now, you would see that’s indeed the case,” Weiberg said.
When I was on a plane from West Virginia (where I was on an assignment) enroute to Kansas City for the Coogs game in the NCAA regional tourney there, I was seated next to a man from New York who was also a Coog enroute to the tourney. It turned out he was a native of up state New York, but had gone to UH. I asked him how he, a New Yorker, decided to attend UH. He said he watched the Coogs beat UCLA on TV when he was in high school and became a fan and decided that’s where he wanted to go.
Yes, athletics cost money; but so does seed corn for a farmer. Yet, where would said farmer be without the seed corn? Where would UH be without an athletic program that is our best advertisement? I imagine we would be a small, teaching college without much impact on our city. What money we spend on athletics is brought back in increased enrollment, donations, and corporate investment.
The benefits Houston and the surrounding area reaps from the UH impact is tremendous. So many of our students remain in the area to provide an educated work force. So much of our research directly applies to the area’s economy. There are many other benefits the area derives from UH, but you guys know that.
Bottom line is this, the money invested in our athletic programs is a bargain even though the dollar amount seems large, especially when compared to the numbers we were used to in the past. But then, in the past we never had a President/Chancellor that really believed we could do what Dr. Khator has done already and wouldn’t even dream of where she is taking us in her remaining years of stewardship.
Think about if we get into the Pac12. It won’t just help athletics as the conference shares research initiatives and funding around the conference. Utah has seen almost a 100% increase in research funding since joining the Pac12 and has seen their academic ranking rise considerably.
Post is spot on.