Every day, as Eden Knight and Lillian Akopyan walk the campus of UC Davis, they are surrounded by sports. It might be the proximity to the football field, or perhaps the Aggie logo on sweatshirts of nearby students, but the signs are there. The two women see it as part of the college experience, although it's not what brought them to UC Davis."I didn't want to come to a school that had a good football team, specifically because I wanted to avoid all of the negative things that come with a good football team," Akopyan explained.Knight agreed, saying "I'm not an athlete, so it doesn't affect me or my education or my degree at all."| RELATED | Students pay for college sports -- whether they want to or notYet, they both have a perception that the sports departments make money and draw people to the school."(NCAA) D1 does make us money or make us a name," Knight said. "It's kind of what makes school attractive to other people," Akopyan added.However, some analysts say that perception is not reality."The money that's being spent on this athletic industrial complex continues to grow," said Fritz Polite, of Shenendoah University. Polite wrote a paper in 2016 for the Drake Group, a think tank looking for academic integrity in college athletics, saying the perception of the lucrative sports juggernaut is just not accurate."I think that another ironic point is that most athletic departments are ill-managed," Polite said. "They're not managed very well from a fiduciary perspective, and so the fact that there's no oversight, you know, most of the departments operate independently and there is no oversight."KCRA 3 Investigates analyzed the NCAA membership financial records for UC Davis and Sacramento State. What we found is that the sports departments, even for high-profile sports such as football and basketball, barely break even. In other words, the athletics departments aren't big money makers.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Students and alumni believe that bowl games and TV rights will help, but neither Sacramento State nor UC Davis got any money from those things. In fact, both schools received a fraction of their sports budgets from NCAA support. 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"Many of the students may not utilize those facilities," Polite said. "So for students to take on that additional debt, which is money that they have to pay back later for things that they're not going to even use, I think is unfair and unjust."The athletic directors for both schools see this as the cost of doing business as a university. They also said their budgets come from a variety of sources. UC Davis Finance Director Kelly Ratliff said the school looks at sports as it would any other department at the school and knows that sports need funding from a variety of sources.| RELATED | Students pay for college sports -- whether they want to or not"We have a commitment to the whole program. And so, if we were to sort of create a circumstance where, you know, every tub on its own bottom, then you would have the full breadth and scope of sports," Ratliff said. "Frankly, you would have the whole breadth and scope of academic programs.""Revenue comes in athletics in all sorts of ways," Sacramento State Athletic Director Mark Orr said. "It can be from corporate sponsorships. It can be from ticket sales. It can be from fundraising. Our hope is with the future success of Hornet athletics that (we) will see more revenue streams entailing and come through."Yet, those other sources of income -- clothing contracts, soft drink pouring rights and other revenues -- don't add up to much for small schools like Sacramento State and UC Davis. As for ticket sales, the total sales, across all sports, are low for both schools.PHNjcmlwdCBpZD0iaW5mb2dyYW1fMF9jODVjYjMwNi0yZjIwLTRhNDQtYmE2OC0yYTJkNTUwZDdkNTAiIHRpdGxlPSJUaWNrZXQgU2FsZXMgU2FjcmFtZW50byBTdGF0ZSBhbmQgVUMgRGF2aXMiIHNyYz0iaHR0cHM6Ly9lLmluZm9ncmFtLmNvbS9qcy9kaXN0L2VtYmVkLmpzP1dvZCIgdHlwZT0idGV4dC9qYXZhc2NyaXB0Ij48L3NjcmlwdD48ZGl2IHN0eWxlPSJwYWRkaW5nOjhweCAwO2ZvbnQtZmFtaWx5OkFyaWFsIWltcG9ydGFudDtmb250LXNpemU6MTNweCFpbXBvcnRhbnQ7bGluZS1oZWlnaHQ6MTVweCFpbXBvcnRhbnQ7dGV4dC1hbGlnbjpjZW50ZXI7Ym9yZGVyLXRvcDoxcHggc29saWQgI2RhZGFkYTttYXJnaW46MCAzMHB4Ij48YSBocmVmPSJodHRwczovL2luZm9ncmFtLmNvbS9jODVjYjMwNi0yZjIwLTRhNDQtYmE2OC0yYTJkNTUwZDdkNTAiIHN0eWxlPSJjb2xvcjojOTg5ODk4IWltcG9ydGFudDt0ZXh0LWRlY29yYXRpb246bm9uZSFpbXBvcnRhbnQ7IiB0YXJnZXQ9Il9ibGFuayI+VGlja2V0IFNhbGVzIFNhY3JhbWVudG8gU3RhdGUgYW5kIFVDIERhdmlzPC9hPjxicj48YSBocmVmPSJodHRwczovL2luZm9ncmFtLmNvbSIgc3R5bGU9ImNvbG9yOiM5ODk4OTghaW1wb3J0YW50O3RleHQtZGVjb3JhdGlvbjpub25lIWltcG9ydGFudDsiIHRhcmdldD0iX2JsYW5rIiByZWw9Im5vZm9sbG93Ij5JbmZvZ3JhbTwvYT48L2Rpdj4=Although Davis had a more successful football season this year, its sales were still in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Football's budget is in the millions and the overall sports budget is in the tens of millions.Another drain on the budgets can be salaries -- or rather, former coaches' salaries. Both UC Davis and Sacramento State have fired their football coaches in the past three years. Davis had to pay off the rest of the coach's contract, leading to a severance of nearly $64,000.Sacramento State's former coach was fired not long after being granted a multiyear contract extension. He can continue to get paid until the end of his contract, unless he finds another job. He made over $250,000 in both salary and benefits in his last year.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Ratliff said UC Davis sees funding sport as the cost of doing business. "It's part of the philosophy of being a major, or a research university, and having a full range of undergraduate majors (and) about 125 sports," he said. "We really want the program to be the right program for students and less about if every individual sport is breaking even or generating a profit."Polite points out that sports are becoming more entertainment than academic, and the money spent on athletics often overshadows the real intent of going to college."That is creating some friction as it relates to some of these schools that, you know, have high academic standards," he said. "Now, you've got this entertainment piece that's getting so much bigger that is kind of clouding the academic side."
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) — Every day, as Eden Knight and Lillian Akopyan walk the campus of UC Davis, they are surrounded by sports.
It might be the proximity to the football field, or perhaps the Aggie logo on sweatshirts of nearby students, but the signs are there. The two women see it as part of the college experience, although it's not what brought them to UC Davis.
"I didn't want to come to a school that had a good football team, specifically because I wanted to avoid all of the negative things that come with a good football team," Akopyan explained.
Knight agreed, saying "I'm not an athlete, so it doesn't affect me or my education or my degree at all."
| RELATED | Students pay for college sports -- whether they want to or not
Yet, they both have a perception that the sports departments make money and draw people to the school.
"(NCAA) D1 does make us money or make us a name," Knight said.
"It's kind of what makes school attractive to other people," Akopyan added.
However, some analysts say that perception is not reality.
"The money that's being spent on this athletic industrial complex continues to grow," said Fritz Polite, of Shenendoah University.
Polite wrote a paper in 2016 for the Drake Group, a think tank looking for academic integrity in college athletics, saying the perception of the lucrative sports juggernaut is just not accurate.
"I think that another ironic point is that most athletic departments are ill-managed," Polite said. "They're not managed very well from a fiduciary perspective, and so the fact that there's no oversight, you know, most of the departments operate independently and there is no oversight."
KCRA 3 Investigates analyzed the NCAA membership financial records for UC Davis and Sacramento State. What we found is that the sports departments, even for high-profile sports such as football and basketball, barely break even. In other words, the athletics departments aren't big money makers.
Students and alumni believe that bowl games and TV rights will help, but neither Sacramento State nor UC Davis got any money from those things. In fact, both schools received a fraction of their sports budgets from NCAA support.
"Many of the students may not utilize those facilities," Polite said. "So for students to take on that additional debt, which is money that they have to pay back later for things that they're not going to even use, I think is unfair and unjust."
The athletic directors for both schools see this as the cost of doing business as a university. They also said their budgets come from a variety of sources.
UC Davis Finance Director Kelly Ratliff said the school looks at sports as it would any other department at the school and knows that sports need funding from a variety of sources.
| RELATED | Students pay for college sports -- whether they want to or not
"We have a commitment to the whole program. And so, if we were to sort of create a circumstance where, you know, every tub on its own bottom, then you would have the full breadth and scope of sports," Ratliff said. "Frankly, you would have the whole breadth and scope of academic programs."
"Revenue comes in athletics in all sorts of ways," Sacramento State Athletic Director Mark Orr said. "It can be from corporate sponsorships. It can be from ticket sales. It can be from fundraising. Our hope is with the future success of Hornet athletics that (we) will see more revenue streams entailing and come through."
Yet, those other sources of income -- clothing contracts, soft drink pouring rights and other revenues -- don't add up to much for small schools like Sacramento State and UC Davis.
As for ticket sales, the total sales, across all sports, are low for both schools.
Although Davis had a more successful football season this year, its sales were still in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Football's budget is in the millions and the overall sports budget is in the tens of millions.
Another drain on the budgets can be salaries -- or rather, former coaches' salaries. Both UC Davis and Sacramento State have fired their football coaches in the past three years.
Davis had to pay off the rest of the coach's contract, leading to a severance of nearly $64,000.
Sacramento State's former coach was fired not long after being granted a multiyear contract extension. He can continue to get paid until the end of his contract, unless he finds another job. He made over $250,000 in both salary and benefits in his last year.
Ratliff said UC Davis sees funding sport as the cost of doing business.
"It's part of the philosophy of being a major, or a research university, and having a full range of undergraduate majors (and) about 125 sports," he said. "We really want the program to be the right program for students and less about if every individual sport is breaking even or generating a profit."
Polite points out that sports are becoming more entertainment than academic, and the money spent on athletics often overshadows the real intent of going to college.
"That is creating some friction as it relates to some of these schools that, you know, have high academic standards," he said. "Now, you've got this entertainment piece that's getting so much bigger that is kind of clouding the academic side."
