NOTE: Fortunately, Pablo has pointed out the error that I was hoping someone would find. We are actually classified as a D-I AAA (first time I had heard of the term). So my post below is mostly moot, but will leave it here to preserve the discussion.
We have touched on this in other threads, but I thought this topic deserved some attention of its own.
There is a bill in the VA legislature that is likely to become law that severely limits the amount VA schools can subsidize their athletic departments. As of today, the House has passed it unanimously, the Senate passed a slightly different version unanimously and there is now a vote scheduled on the calendar back in the House. The differences don’t seem to be significant enough to stop something that has had unanimous support to this point. So, it looks like it will become law if the Governor does not decide to veto it, which I would think is unlikely. Here is a link to information about the bill:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=151&typ=bil&val=HB1897
The portions that affect Mason the most for those that don’t enjoy reading legislation as much as I do:
The subsidy percentage shall not exceed:
55 percent for NCAA Division I-A institutions affiliated with conferences other than the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, or Southeastern Conference.
When necessary, each institution shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly for approval a plan that reduces the subsidy in accordance with targets outlined in the plan over a five-year period until the subsidy percentage complies with the requirements of subsection C.
Using latest numbers I can find for the Mason AD budget (2013):
Total Revenue: $22,262,650
Subsidy: $17,285,334
Subsidy percent: 77.64%
So that means within five years, we will have to drop our subsidy from 77.64% to 55%
To get to 55% we have to reduce our subsidy amount significantly. Unfortunately, as our subsidy drops, our revenue drops by the same amount, meaning we have to cut a lot more than you might think (at least a lot more than I originally did). Holding non-subsidy revenue steady (which might not be true since we may have dropped over the last two years) here is where we would be in year 5 if I reduce revenue by the same amount (in this case $11,200,000) until the subsidy is down to a 55% subsidy:
Total Revenue: $11,062,650
Subsidy: $6,085,334
Subsidy percent: 55.01%
I hope I have done something horribly wrong here, because, if not, it is about to get really ugly. If I have it right, though, some things to note:
We have touched on this in other threads, but I thought this topic deserved some attention of its own.
There is a bill in the VA legislature that is likely to become law that severely limits the amount VA schools can subsidize their athletic departments. As of today, the House has passed it unanimously, the Senate passed a slightly different version unanimously and there is now a vote scheduled on the calendar back in the House. The differences don’t seem to be significant enough to stop something that has had unanimous support to this point. So, it looks like it will become law if the Governor does not decide to veto it, which I would think is unlikely. Here is a link to information about the bill:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=151&typ=bil&val=HB1897
The portions that affect Mason the most for those that don’t enjoy reading legislation as much as I do:
The subsidy percentage shall not exceed:
55 percent for NCAA Division I-A institutions affiliated with conferences other than the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, or Southeastern Conference.
When necessary, each institution shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly for approval a plan that reduces the subsidy in accordance with targets outlined in the plan over a five-year period until the subsidy percentage complies with the requirements of subsection C.
Using latest numbers I can find for the Mason AD budget (2013):
Total Revenue: $22,262,650
Subsidy: $17,285,334
Subsidy percent: 77.64%
So that means within five years, we will have to drop our subsidy from 77.64% to 55%
To get to 55% we have to reduce our subsidy amount significantly. Unfortunately, as our subsidy drops, our revenue drops by the same amount, meaning we have to cut a lot more than you might think (at least a lot more than I originally did). Holding non-subsidy revenue steady (which might not be true since we may have dropped over the last two years) here is where we would be in year 5 if I reduce revenue by the same amount (in this case $11,200,000) until the subsidy is down to a 55% subsidy:
Total Revenue: $11,062,650
Subsidy: $6,085,334
Subsidy percent: 55.01%
I hope I have done something horribly wrong here, because, if not, it is about to get really ugly. If I have it right, though, some things to note:
- That is a cut of just over 50% in our AD budget.
- Cutting down to just the # of sports required by the NCAA is not going to get us even close to the $11M we would need to reduce our budget by.
- In this environment where we have more student fees than Mason is allowed spend on athletics, it makes donations, ticket sales (and other revenue generators) worth more than double their face value, like a multiplier. For example, if someone gives $1,000, the AD can then subsidize with an additional $1,225 and keep the subsidy ratio at 55%.
- I hope BE has some rabbits he is about to pull out of his hat from a funding standpoint
- This does not include revenues from the A10 which should help significantly (again more than doubling if you use the subsidy that opens up)
- It does not account for any drop in ticket sales or donations from 2013 to this season, which seems like a distinct possibility
- We may, sadly, need to become a guarantee game type school as one game paying us $100k would net the AD budget an additional $223k total when you factor in the multiplier
- This puts Mason (and vcu) at a significant disadvantage with the rest of the A10
- For some reason, ODU is getting preferential treatment and classified as a DI-AA school (70% subsidy) until 2020 at which point they will have to be at the same 55% as us.
- This seems to hurt us the most (at least the schools I can think of off the top of my head) given where our fundraising currently is and the fact that ODU is receiving special treatment.
- Ironically, it might be in our best interest to start a DI-AA football team before this goes into effect (probably too late) as it would raise our subsidy level to 70% assuming we get the same special treatment that ODU is getting.
Last edited:
