The intransigence of the NCAA has temporarily given new life to the intercollegiate ski programs at the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The cagey operators who control college sports in this country refused to say they would approve or deny a plan by UA to eliminate a handful of sports teams as a budget-cutting move.
The sovereigns of sport also refused to say what the penalties would be on UA if it acted without getting advance approval. Hoping to avoid anything that could be called a precedent, the NCAA more or less dared the university to break the rules and see what happens.
Instead of asking for permission, the university should do whatever it wants in violation of the rules and ask that its transgressions be forgiven. Cutting the ski programs, as well as indoor track at UAA, would fall below the 10-team NCAA standard and likely mean NCAA sanctions.
University President Jim Johnsen responded in the only way possible to this uncertain risk by canceling the cutback plan, which would have saved $1.1 million to $1.25 million by eliminating six teams.
Now all that needs to happen is that the leaders of all UA sports programs in Anchorage and Fairbanks, along with their thousands of fans, need to come up with a way to slice sports subsidies by millions.
That means raising ticket prices for hockey, basketball and volleyball, getting more paying customers to the games and increasing sponsorships and fundraising.
Lacking a major initiative with those elements, the momentum to eliminate all intercollegiate sports in Alaska or end hockey—the most expensive program—will build quickly.
The budget trajectory for the university is headed down and time is running out. The UA budget was $375 million two years ago. Now it is $325 and it is likely to slide again next year.
The most significant restructuring of the university in the last 30 years is taking place in response to the budget crisis, with major implications for the state and its future. Most of the public attention so far has been directed at the sports programs, among the most visible parts of the university's presence.
Without new revenue, it will be harder and harder to defend a $13 million subsidy for sports programs as more academic programs are shut down and more jobs are eliminated.
More than 80 percent of the cost of sports programs comes from the state general fund, tuition and mandatory college fees.
By contrast, only 20 percent of the cost of research requires a state subsidy and 70 percent of academic programs are funded that way, Johnsen told the UA Board of Regents on Thursday morning.
What else could you do with the $13 million spent on sports?
That money could generate more than $50 million in new revenue if applied to research. It could pay for 2,000 full scholarships. It could pay for a 13 percent reduction in tuition. It could cover about 130 jobs.
If sports are to continue, there has to be a new way to pay for a larger part of the cost. There are about 300 athletes in UA sports programs, but they are not the only beneficiaries.
The ski programs are tied into the community efforts in Fairbanks and Anchorage to promote and encourage cross-country skiing. In response to the proposed cuts, many people started paying more attention to just what they could do to generate more financial support.
Now it's clearly not just about skiing, one of the most inexpensive UA sports. With the NCAA refusing to approve or reject alternatives, the university has to keep to the 10-team minimum or get rid of hockey at UAA and UAF and go entirely to Division II sports in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
A review of the athletic programs concluded that it would be a "death sentence for intercollegiate athletics in Alaska" if the idea is to eliminate a general fund subsidy by 2025.
That plan dealt with three options — one of which required NCAA advance approval, one that that cut hockey and skiing programs and added soccer and other sports and one that cut all sports.
College soccer and golf in Fairbanks? It is hard to take that option seriously. Basketball would continue, it seems, because the state government just spent $110 million for a basketball arena.
There needs to be more private revenue raised for hockey, basketball, volleyball, rifle, skiing, gymnastics, swimming and the rest at the University of Alaska if any sports are to continue. Otherwise, it will be hard to avoid that third option—eliminating all sports.
Correction: An earlier version of this column incorrectly referred to one of the options considered for the future of UA sports programs. That option, which is unrelated to the NCAA position, would cut hockey at UAA and UAF and start other sports such as soccer and golf.
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Columnist Dermot Cole can be reached at dermot@alaskadispatch.com.
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