The Citadel Eyes $1.4M Shortfall - Norm for FCS

[TexasTerror]

$1.4M shortfall for The Citadel. What was it at Montana recently when they came out of that mess there? The shortfall is roughly equal to the amount The Citadel spends on womens' athletics actually.

Read the article for more talk about El Cid needing to play two money games a year...
-------------
The Cost Of Playing: Citadel wrestling with rising budgets
Saturday, April 28, 2007
BY JEFF HARTSELL


As a graphic projecting a $1.4 million shortfall for The Citadel's athletic department budget went up on the screen at a recent Board of Visitors meeting, someone broke the silence with a joke about winning the lottery.

The crack elicited a few chuckles, but the rising costs of college athletics is no laughing matter at the military school. The five-year plan presented to the Board of Visitors last week projects that The Citadel's athletic department budget will top the $10 million mark by 2010.

The projected shortfall of about $1.4 million for 2007-08 is almost twice as much as the deficit of $873,573 that The Citadel ran in 2005-06, and the cost of playing, like most everything else these days, is only going up.

"We're like most Division I-AA programs," Citadel athletic director Les Robinson said. "Most I-AA schools have a budget shortfall, and the money to make that up comes from different places, various foundations and other sources. You try to do the best with what you have, and we're doing that."

http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=sports&tableId=141375&pubDate=4/28/2007

[appfan2008]

that is too bad... other than big money football games how can they make that up???

[TexasTerror]

that is too bad... other than big money football games how can they make that up???

Cut sports...

Don't fully fund (scholarships) for programs...

Cut staff...

Hold off on improvements...

Work on different approaches to increase gate, sponsors, etc...

[citdog]

Cut sports...

Don't fully fund (scholarships) for programs...

Cut staff...

Hold off on improvements...

Work on different approaches to increase gate, sponsors, etc...


or the Federal Government could have left the State of South Carolina alone and let the citizens here decide if they wanted The Citadel to stay the way it was intended to be. SINGLE GENDER! now we are having to fund womens sports which is an oxymoron. this is going to continue to be a problem, as my College has only approx 15k living Alumni. we lead the SoCon in money raised per year by our booster org The Brigader Club, with the fewest living Grads. i sent les an E-mail asking him to stop using the I-AA name. we will find a solution and things will work out, there are a lot of VERY smart people in the Dept. of Athletics

[Mr. C]

$1.4M shortfall for The Citadel. What was it at Montana recently when they came out of that mess there? The shortfall is roughly equal to the amount The Citadel spends on womens' athletics actually.

Read the article for more talk about El Cid needing to play two money games a year...

The Citadel HAS been playing two money games as often as it can for some time. The comment about women's athletics is revealing. Next thing you know the "Save the Males" bumper stickers will be back in force in Charleston.

[ngineer]

The Citadel HAS been playing two money games as often as it can for some time. The comment about women's athletics is revealing. Next thing you know the "Save the Males" bumper stickers will be back in force in Charleston.

That's why Lehigh can't get a game or home/home with Citadel which everyone would love because of Higgins being our former HC. There were discussions, but the need for the big money games has prevented this from occuring.:(

[appfan2008]

they ought to cut the some females schollys but title 9 wont let that happen

[citdog]

they ought to cut the some females schollys but title 9 wont let that happen


we need to cut women out from my school PERIOD!

[appfan2008]

didnt it used to be men only???

[citdog]

didnt it used to be men only???


for 150 years

[appfan2008]

damn... gender equity bull crap

[citdog]

damn... gender equity bull crap


first we let them vote and then we let them drive. what were we thinking?xnodx xnodx xnodx :D

[vmifan]

or the Federal Government could have left the State of South Carolina alone and let the citizens here decide if they wanted The Citadel to stay the way it was intended to be. SINGLE GENDER! now we are having to fund womens sports which is an oxymoron. this is going to continue to be a problem, as my College has only approx 15k living Alumni. we lead the SoCon in money raised per year by our booster org The Brigader Club, with the fewest living Grads. i sent les an E-mail asking him to stop using the I-AA name. we will find a solution and things will work out, there are a lot of VERY smart people in the Dept. of Athletics

VMI faces a larger challenge, being ony 1,300 in enrollment, but we have generally balanced the athletic budget. VMI raised 2.8Mill last year through the Keydet Club and this year is on track to raise 3.5Mill. That is what is needed to offset the rising expenses. VMI has no money games this year, but will generally have 1/year going forward.

[citdog]

VMI faces a larger challenge, being ony 1,300 in enrollment, but we have generally balanced the athletic budget. VMI raised 2.8Mill last year through the Keydet Club and this year is on track to raise 3.5Mill. That is what is needed to offset the rising expenses. VMI has no money games this year, but will generally have 1/year going forward.


Virginia's Marching Idiots, half as big as The Citadel and produces half the man!xnodx

[ngineer]

VMI faces a larger challenge, being ony 1,300 in enrollment, but we have generally balanced the athletic budget. VMI raised 2.8Mill last year through the Keydet Club and this year is on track to raise 3.5Mill. That is what is needed to offset the rising expenses. VMI has no money games this year, but will generally have 1/year going forward.

Sure you do--aren't you coming up to Goodman on September 22?:D

[boonedocks]

first we let them vote and then we let them drive. what were we thinking?xnodx xnodx xnodx :D


xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xthumbsupx

[citdog]

xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xthumbsupx


xthumbsupx

[Mr. C]

they ought to cut the some females schollys but title 9 wont let that happen
WHY?
As someone with two daughters, I think my girls should have as much opportunity for scholarships as anyone else. Let's get out of the dark ages.

[Mr. C]

we need to cut women out from my school PERIOD!
Citdog, the patron saint of lost causes. First you lost the War Between The States. Then you lost the war of the sexes. What war are you going to lose next?

[Mr. C]

for 150 years
Should we bring back slavery while we're at it, too?

[fuEMO]

I totally agree with Mr. C, I also have a daughter born in SC and will more than likely finish high school in South Carolina. If she wants to go to the Citadel (heaven forbid) but she should have the choice, I pay tax dollars that go to that school. So have my parents and my grandparents. Let the Citadel go private. And no state funding to build that new stadium too!!! xnodx

[citdog]

I totally agree with Mr. C, I also have a daughter born in SC and will more than likely finish high school in South Carolina. If she wants to go to the Citadel (heaven forbid) but she should have the choice, I pay tax dollars that go to that school. So have my parents and my grandparents. Let the Citadel go private. And no state funding to build that new stadium too!!! xnodx


SINGLE GENDER EDUCATION WORKS. IT IS A SHAME THAT MEN LOST THE OPPORTUNITY IN THIS COUNTRY THAT WAS AVALIABLE AT ONLY TWO PLACES FOR MEN BUT AT COUNTLESS COLLEGES FOR WOMEN. SC AND CLEMSON GET MONEY FOR FACILITIES, WHY NOT US?

[CopperCat]

Should we bring back slavery while we're at it, too?

That's going too far. Uncalled for.

But seriously citdog, opportunity is something everyone should have no matter what sex they are (gender is not the same as sex!!!!). If you think that women are somehow inferior to men (which some of your previous comments refer to that even if they are trying to be funny), I disagree whole heartedly. Women have just as much to contribute as men, and in areas that men aren't as good at.

[CopperCat]

SINGLE GENDER EDUCATION WORKS. IT IS A SHAME THAT MEN LOST THE OPPORTUNITY IN THIS COUNTRY THAT WAS AVALIABLE AT ONLY TWO PLACES FOR MEN BUT AT COUNTLESS COLLEGES FOR WOMEN. SC AND CLEMSON GET MONEY FOR FACILITIES, WHY NOT US?

Single gender schools don't allow for proper socialization to happen. And I don't really think it is a good solution to your money problem.

[rcny46]

we need to cut women out from my school PERIOD!


I'm not a misogynist,but as an El Cid grad (`68),I would have to concur with your opinion.I can't imagine going through the program the way it is now.

[citdog]

I'm not a misogynist,but as an El Cid grad (`68),I would have to concur with your opinion.I can't imagine going through the program the way it is now.

time to change that avatar 46!

[citdog]

Single gender schools don't allow for proper socialization to happen. And I don't really think it is a good solution to your money problem.


how do you know? the Fourth Class System isn't about socialization, it's about taking an ingot of a man and reforming him in the image of a Citadel Man. The WHOLE MAN CONCEPT!

[citdog]

WHY?
As someone with two daughters, I think my girls should have as much opportunity for scholarships as anyone else. Let's get out of the dark ages.




the dark ages. as you called them, produced a several generations of MEN who KNEW what it means to be a man. that has been so watered down the last 30 years. what is wrong with a place that takes young men and trains them to be honest, patriotic, leaders?

[CitadelGrad]

Single gender schools don't allow for proper socialization to happen. And I don't really think it is a good solution to your money problem.

Baloney! Socialization occurs at ages much younger than college age. Single gender education at all levels is supported by volumes of academic studies.

We hear about diversity all the time, but not when in comes to diversity in state-supported education. What is wrong with public education offering different environments for education? Do we really have to accept the "one size fits all" mentality when it comes to education?

[rokamortis]

the dark ages. as you called them, produced a several generations of MEN who KNEW what it means to be a man. that has been so watered down the last 30 years. what is wrong with a place that takes young men and trains them to be honest, patriotic, leaders?

Why didn't you guys just go private at the time?

[DFW HOYA]

Single gender schools don't allow for proper socialization to happen. And I don't really think it is a good solution to your money problem.

Single gender high schools seem to work fine, but it's politically incorrect to have single gender colleges....no, make that male gender colleges. Watch the lawsuits fly the moment someone wants Smith or Wellesley to go coed.

[citdog]

Single gender high schools seem to work fine, but it's politically incorrect to have single gender colleges....no, make that male gender colleges. Watch the lawsuits fly the moment someone wants Smith or Wellesley to go coed.



especially SOUTHERN Single Gender schools for the great opressors the SOUTHERN WHITE MALE

[Sly Fox]

Why didn't you guys just go private at the time?

They wanted to have their cake and eat it too.

Somehow other schools seem to manage to operate with scholies for women.

[citdog]

They wanted to have their cake and eat it too.

Somehow other schools seem to manage to operate with scholies for women.


no we did not want to deviate from what we were, THE BEST SINGLE GENDER MILITARY COLLEGE ON THIS PLANET. Other schools do operate with womens schollies, but didn't have to start their programs from scratch in the last 2 years of the 20th century.

[JohnStOnge]

What I don't like about that kind of article is the implied conclusion that not being "I-AA" or FCS would mean better finances. A few years ago I spent a lot of time looking at finances at different levels and, on average, athletic programs with I-AA football programs lost less money than athletic programs with non-BCS I-A programs did.

To me, a better statement would've been, "We're like most Division I programs that aren't in BCS conferences."

[appfan2008]

it is too bad you all were not able to keep your distinction and remain the largest single gender military school

[Seawolf97]

Any prospects of turning this around without damage to the program? I dont like to see this - shortfall is a nasty word.

[*****]

What I don't like about that kind of article is the implied conclusion that not being "I-AA" or FCS would mean better finances. A few years ago I spent a lot of time looking at finances at different levels and, on average, athletic programs with I-AA football programs lost less money than athletic programs with non-BCS I-A programs did.

To me, a better statement would've been, "We're like most Division I programs that aren't in BCS conferences."Right, FCS loses less money than FBS if you take out the BCS bankroll. MUCH LESS. In general, if you go FBS you will lose more money.

[vmifan]

Virginia's Marching Idiots, half as big as The Citadel and produces half the man!xnodx

The Citadel is showing a 1.4Mill shortfall. Your fundraising arm raises 1.25Mill/year. If you guys were to step up and invest what VMI invests in its school, you'd have a surplus. Let's see if a school much larger than VMI and has a much larger living alumni base can get close to what we raise. Time for Citadel men to be bigger than they have been and step up your investment. If not what does that say?

[citdog]

The Citadel is showing a 1.4Mill shortfall. Your fundraising arm raises 1.25Mill/year. If you guys were to step up and invest what VMI invests in its school, you'd have a surplus. Let's see if a school much larger than VMI and has a much larger living alumni base can get close to what we raise. Time for Citadel men to be bigger than they have been and step up your investment. If not what does that say?


VMI gets a larger percentage of its operating budget from the great and sovereign Commenwealth of Virginia. The Citadel receives much less from Columbia. With Clemson and USC just last week getting approval from the State House for 200 million dollars in bonds for facility upgrades it is QUITE clear that we are on our own. Maybe the time has come for The Citadel to redefine the nature of her association with the State of South Carolina for whom we have produced leaders in ALL fields that far exceeds the other colleges and Universities in this great State.

[vmifan]

VMI gets a larger percentage of its operating budget from the great and sovereign Commenwealth of Virginia. The Citadel receives much less from Columbia. With Clemson and USC just last week getting approval from the State House for 200 million dollars in bonds for facility upgrades it is QUITE clear that we are on our own. Maybe the time has come for The Citadel to redefine the nature of her association with the State of South Carolina for whom we have produced leaders in ALL fields that far exceeds the other colleges and Universities in this great State.
VMI's percentage from the Commonwealth of VA has dwindled from 50% to about 30% over the last few years. But, what we're really talking about is athletics and we do it with private funds. The Commonwealth will not provide any funding towards athletics. Moreover, it limits the amount we can charge per student in tuition costs for athletics (activity) fees, and I think that is limited to about $700/cadet.

Your fundraising team needs to double what it raises now. VMI has long had respect for Citadel despite our spirited rivalry, I wish y'all well in raising monies to close the deficit.

[gophoenix]

But from an article in the Myrtle Beach paper a few years ago, The Citadel gets more from the state of South Carolina than Coastal Carolina does, even though it is larger.

I went to private college out of choice, but I am still forced to pay taxes to support public colleges. And on top of that, most of the funds in the UNC system go to fund UNC-CH and NC State. Funding would change for The Citadel if more grads sat inside the state's governing body. But I don't think that is the point.

I've often wondered why schools like App, The Citadel, VMI, Coastal don't just go to private status since they get screwed over in money disproportionately from other schools in their respective state's public school system

[Go...gate]

Virginia's Marching Idiots, half as big as The Citadel and produces half the man!xnodx

But twice the money, Citdog.

[Go...gate]

no we did not want to deviate from what we were, THE BEST SINGLE GENDER MILITARY COLLEGE ON THIS PLANET. Other schools do operate with womens schollies, but didn't have to start their programs from scratch in the last 2 years of the 20th century.

Citdog, you really believe The Citadel you are at a higher level than USMA and USNA? No disrespect - I know The Citadel is a very good school (they [and/or VMI] would be more than welcome in the Patriot League, IMO) but that is a very bold claim.

[citdog]

Citdog, you really believe The Citadel you are at a higher level than USMA and USNA? No disrespect - I know The Citadel is a very good school (they [and/or VMI] would be more than welcome in the Patriot League, IMO) but that is a very bold claim.


Who? and Who? xsmiley_wix







the service acad's have ALWAYS had Fourth Class Systems that pale in comparison to The Citadel and VMI. the Honor System at the acad's is no longer lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those that do and the first time equals expulsion. the cheating scandals at Navy and Colorado Springs are proof of this. the acad's were forced into Co-Education in the late 70's, so yes The Citadel was the FINEST Single-gender Military College on this planet, and WAS even before the acad's were forced to admit Amazons.

[Go...gate]

Who? and Who? xsmiley_wix







the service acad's have ALWAYS had Fourth Class Systems that pale in comparison to The Citadel and VMI. the Honor System at the acad's is no longer lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those that do and the first time equals expulsion. the cheating scandals at Navy and Colorado Springs are proof of this. the acad's were forced into Co-Education in the late 70's, so yes The Citadel was the FINEST Single-gender Military College on this planet, and WAS even before the acad's were forced to admit Amazons.

Fair enough - forgot that you guys remained single-gender for a good 20 years after Army and Navy.

Interesting point about the Honor Code; I'm all for it but does The Citadel's admin feel strongly about its effectiveness?

[vmifan]

Fair enough - forgot that you guys remained single-gender for a good 20 years after Army and Navy.

Interesting point about the Honor Code; I'm all for it but does The Citadel's admin feel strongly about its effectiveness?

I'll let Citdog answer it by telling us why Citadel just started putting locks on their barracks' doors?

[citdog]

I'll let Citdog answer it by telling us why Citadel just started putting locks on their barracks' doors?


The Admin has NOTHING to do with the Honor System. It is entirely run by Cadets. The locks issue is in response to the Va Tech incident and the fact that during summer school civilian students live in the Barracks. I am not for locks on barracks doors.

[Go...gate]

The Admin has NOTHING to do with the Honor System. It is entirely run by Cadets. The locks issue is in response to the Va Tech incident and the fact that during summer school civilian students live in the Barracks. I am not for locks on barracks doors.

Again, I think it is a great idea - we had one of these in my prep school and I was on its Honor Committee - and I do believe it worked well, since everybody really bought into it, and those that did not, well, they usually did not last long.

[AppMan]

first we let them vote and then we let them drive. what were we thinking?xnodx xnodx xnodx :D

That's incredible! I say that (joking of course) to my wife all the time!!!

[AppMan]

First you lost the War Between The States.

The correct name my friend is The War of Northern Aggression!

[CID1990]

I totally agree with Mr. C, I also have a daughter born in SC and will more than likely finish high school in South Carolina. If she wants to go to the Citadel (heaven forbid) but she should have the choice, I pay tax dollars that go to that school. So have my parents and my grandparents. Let the Citadel go private. And no state funding to build that new stadium too!!! xnodx

That dead horse was beaten quite a bit when Shannon Faulkner was embarrasing herself back during her 15 minutes of fame. Just because a school is private does not mean that it does not accept public funds. There are plenty of grants and scholarship funds that are publicly funded, and they are accepted at private schools just as they are at 'public' ones. The public vs. private argument was run into the ground, and folks like you just ate it up. You pay for West Point and the US Merchant Marine Academy, as well, but your darlings can't just waltz in there, either.

Second, the only conduit for state funding for the stadium is through the SC National Guard using parts of the facility. Their armory used to be across the street until we bought it from them. In that respect, the state's contribution to the stadium fund is not close to being the largest slice of the pie.

The Citadel has been abandoned by the state numerous times since those days back in the mid-90s, and funding is just the tip of the iceberg. Just the infrastructure changes alone were huge, and The Citadel shouldered the lion's share of those.

Also, it is difficult to stomach the prospect of the football program suffering over this, especially since the vast majority of women at The Citadel early on were ALL on athletic scholarships. The school couldn't give out enough scholarships to the female cadets. The volleyball team was a prime example of this. There were a few players who had never played organized volleyball before coming to The Citadel, and suddenly, they were scholarship athletes. The school has been bending over backwards for the female cadets. They even hired additional staff whose jobs were solely related to the womens' presence on campus. They had their own commandant, for crying out loud. Does Furman, Wofford, Clemson or USC have a special dean just for their women?

I won't even go into the thing about the locks being installed on the doors now in response to the VaTech thing..... suffice to say that if they had any balls at all they would just hand out firing pins and a couple rounds of 7.62mm to each cadet instead.....

[CID1990]

I went to private college out of choice

It is ironic that someone would mention choice, but it was bound to happen. After VMI and The Citadel lost in court over the co-ed issue, choices for men essentially went away.

College-aged men these days no longer have the choice between single-gender schools and co-educational ones, because the single gender ones don't exist anymore. Well, they can go to Hampden-Sydney or one or two others like that, I guess. Woo Hoo! Women are the only people who have choices anymore.

[Cleets]

It is ironic that someone would mention choice, but it was bound to happen. After VMI and The Citadel lost in court over the co-ed issue, choices for men essentially went away.

College-aged men these days no longer have the choice between single-gender schools and co-educational ones, because the single gender ones don't exist anymore. Well, they can go to Hampden-Sydney or one or two others like that, I guess. Woo Hoo! Women are the only people who have choices anymore.

True statement...
(at least very hard to argue against in regards to higher education)

xnodx

-

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Did anyone actually read the article and look at how the sausage is made?


When tuitions rise at The Citadel, so does the cost of the 143 scholarships it awards to student-athletes. The Citadel's five-year plan assumes an increase of 6.5 percent each year in scholarship costs, as well as a 3.5 percent increase in expenses. The Citadel's Brigadier Foundation raises about $1.25 million each year to help pay for scholarships, but will be hard-pressed to keep pace with a 6.5 percent annual increase.

On top of that is the rising cost of women's athletics at The Citadel. According to the U.S. Dept. of Education, The Citadel spent about $1.45 million on women's athletics in 2005-06.

As part of a self-study in the NCAA's recertification process, The Citadel determined that it awards about 90 percent of the NCAA limit for scholarships in men's sports, while the figure for women's sports is at about 70 percent of the NCAA limit.

To close that gap, The Citadel's new gender equity plan calls for adding two women's scholarships each year over the next five years, at a cost of $50,000 per year. Also, the plan calls for supplying comparable courtesy cars and communications and computer equipment to the coaches of women's teams, at a cost of about $15,000 per year.

First of all, this plan has spending in it that congressional Democrats would be proud of. Let me get this straight, courtesy cars for women's teams? If courtesy cars are a part of ANY coaches' salary, men's or women's, and there's a 1.4 million dollar shortfall, um, wouldn't that be the first thing to go? And the computer systems can't be considered a women's-teams-only expense. You're telling me computers to (say) time women track team members can't be used by the men's teams?

Putting a yearly cost on computers is also patently ridiculous. That's a one-time expense. Does anyone buy a home computer and say that it costs me $200 a year for five years? No; you say it costs $1000 and you're done with it.

Let me get this straight as well - expenses are growing at 3.5%, and are exceeding the rate of inflation? All things considered, the costs of women's athletics aren't completely out of line either, although the article seems to want you to believe that women's sports are the cause of all the problems. Seems to me if there's a problem, it deals with good old ineffeiciency. And, oh, don't I remember that the AD gets a financial windfall when he arranges FBS money games? xeyebrowx


One reason for The Citadel's projected shortfall of $1.4 million for next year is the fact that the football team will play only one "money game" next fall instead of the two guarantee games it has played each of the last two years. According to Robinson, a home football game usually nets the school between $50,000 and $100,000; a second "money game" might have pulled in as much as $450,000.

That difference of up to $400,000 is the main reason athletic department revenues are expected to dip from $5.76 million in 2006-07 to about $5.1 million next year.

But the Bulldogs are slated to play four guarantee games in 2008 and 2009, with Clemson and Florida on the schedule in 2008 and South Carolina and North Carolina the year after that. In 2010, The Citadel will play at Arizona, and Robinson said he is working on more money games for the future.

Some Citadel fans object to playing two "money games" per year, but there's no doubt those games will help the bottom line, Still, The Citadel projects that revenues - which include student fees, guarantees, gate receipts, sales from programs and concessions and promotions - will remain relatively flat over the next five years, reaching only $5.6 million by 2011-12.

Sounds to me like The Citadel has made an unholy bargain with FBS. If you are DEPENDING on TWO games to balance your budget, something is wrong. And it looks like there's enough evidence (to me anyway) to dig on the expense side of this equation. xtwocentsx

[GannonFan]

or the Federal Government could have left the State of South Carolina alone and let the citizens here decide if they wanted The Citadel to stay the way it was intended to be. SINGLE GENDER! now we are having to fund womens sports which is an oxymoron. this is going to continue to be a problem, as my College has only approx 15k living Alumni. we lead the SoCon in money raised per year by our booster org The Brigader Club, with the fewest living Grads. i sent les an E-mail asking him to stop using the I-AA name. we will find a solution and things will work out, there are a lot of VERY smart people in the Dept. of Athletics

How does admitting women account for the steep amount of monetary losses? Women only account for 6% of The Citadel's populace - and with the school's small populace that's only like 100 women or so. Under Title IX you just need to provide proportional support, at least as I understand it. So how does providing athletic outlets for 100 women all of a sudden cause The Citadel to lose millions of dollars every year? It seems like you are scapegoating the admission of women for the shortfall when something else appears amiss.

[CID1990]

I don't disagree with this line of thinking. In fact, I have never been a big fan of spending policies where Citadel athletics are concerned. However, keep in mind that up until about 10 years ago, The Citadel didn't have to deal with the problems it faces now. Granted, every other school in the whole country deals with the same problems, but The Citadel (and VMI for that matter) had to suddenly add womens' athletics and start from scratch. Some of the infrastructure issues that have long ago been absorbed by other schools were all on the table for The Citadel and VMI overnight, and the spending had to occur or else we risked, well, look at Boston University.

I agree that courtesy cars are an extravagant expense for a school that is trying to find 1.4 million dollars. I have a distinct feeling that courtesy cars were written into the coaches' contracts, going back to days when we didn't have budget shortfalls. If a car is in Kevin Higgins' contract, then it can't be just taken away arbitrarily unless he agrees to it. The alternative is to give the volleyball coach a car. Judging from the way we put that team together, she is probably a part-timer, maybe a local high school coach, but that's just a hunch. I don't care enough about it to find out, heh heh.

The original article also included comparisons between SoCon schools and their spending levels. It was interesting to see that The Citadel spends more on football than pretty much everyone else with a couple of exception like App. We even spend more than GSU, which makes me wonder if the new stadium expenses aren't in that mix.... I suspect they are, since the stadium is being built with a lot of alumni money that is given directly to the Brigadier Club.

I have a feeling that once the stadium is finished and paid for that we will be back in the green. Hopefully.