Athletics budget reveals true cost of LC athletes

There seem to be two ultimate truths for student athletes at Lewis & Clark: The plane tickets are free, but the shoes are not.

To the general student body, whose own accomodations do not surpass much further than a set of reusable silverware, the budget of the athletics department appears endless. LC Athletics provides student athletes with uniforms at the beginning of each year. It pays for transportation, usually flights or bus rentals, to and from tournaments. It pays for lodging while the teams are away. Athletes also have their meals at Fields Dining Hall paid for while training in the weeks before the term begins. But when the season rolls around, the players often find themselves paying out of pocket for clothing, gear and food. 

Director of Physical Education & Athletics Mark Pietrok cites inflation, higher price of gasoline and hotel accommodations and a decrease in donations over the last ten years to the budget restrictions student athletes have lately been facing.

Shaina Zins ’22, coxswain for the Men’s Crew team, keeps a wrench in her back pocket in case a boat needs a tune-up. She paid for it on her own, along with an electric hand warmer. Regarding funding for personal supplies, Zins wishes she had more.

“At the end of the day, [maintaining] the boats and travelling expenses are more important than that,” Zins said. 

Nike provides the LC athletics department with a 45% discount on all goods via their online store at the beginning of each year, as long as the department pays with institutional funds. This is  charged to the department’s operational budget. In return, it is understood players will wear Nike gear to games and other public appearances.

Nike conducts similar deals with other Division III institutions. However, this policy is seldom enforced, according to members of the football team. Additionally, the athletes who do not prefer Nike have to buy their own equipment out of pocket with no discount. 

“There’s definitely room to take better care of the athletes,” Mercury Compagno ’22, member of the football team, said. 

Though the team of 70 players can afford special uniforms to wear while travelling and hotels to sleep in during tournaments, the money runs dry when it comes time to eat.

“The budget doesn’t allow for nutritional meals,” Compagno said. 

The department organizes its finances into two budgets: operations and personnel. The operations budget finances the purchase of new supplies, software, travel expenses and game officials. The personnel budget covers the salaries and benefit costs of all coaches and employees. The capital equipment budget, a pot for the whole school, contributes to the maintenance of department facilities.  

The college provides about 80% of the operations budget. The remaining 20% comes from sources of revenue such as ticket sales, facility rentals and the Pioneer Athletics Club (PAC). A diminished presence in recent years, the PAC is a “booster group” or funnel for alumni and parent donations. This infrastructure also allows local businesses and corporations to pledge donations to the department. 

Pietrok and Assistant Athletic Director Sharon Sexton oversee all purchases made within the department. The coaches of any given team or club make a formal appeal to purchase a needed item. If Pietrok and Sexton approve the appeal, the coach can use their issued credit card to make the purchase. Coaches can also request the directors for the funds necessary to send their team to a tournament. These requests are usually granted, though they require tweaking and manipulating to the department budget. 

According to the Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) report on Lewis & Clark’s athletics department, expenses from March 2019 to June 2020 racked up to a total of $3.25 million. 

A sum of $939,257 went to the salaries of 19 head coaches and 69 assistant coaches. Head coaches of men’s teams can make up to (in full time equivalents) $14,000 more per year than head coaches of women’s teams, regardless of National Collegiate Athletic Association status. 

The highest operating expense per individual was spent on Women’s Basketball at $3,524 per team member. The lowest was spent on Men’s Outdoor Track and Field at $442 per team member. 

The highest expenses by team were spent on Football, LC’s largest team, at the cost of $137,735 in operating expenses and a total of $491,295. The lowest expenses by team were spent on Women’s Golf at $5,742. 

The football team was also the department’s greatest individual source of revenue, bringing back nearly half a million dollars. The revenues of all teams, excluding football and basketball, amounted to just over the million dollar line. 

According to the EADA report, all expenses were paid in direct proportion to revenue, leaving the department’s treasury with a net loss of zero to one dollars.