‘The money does not exist’: Why the buyouts for college football coaches are setting off alarm bells | CNN
PSU very prominently mentioned.
Some excerpts from this very "on-point" article:
1) Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft, who through a spokesperson declined comment for this story, has insisted that Franklin’s buyout is “an athletics issue. This is not the institution’s issue. We in athletics are covering the costs.”
But from where? “No one has the answer,’’ one of the board members said.
2) Except now, as some of those bills come due at the same time revenue sharing comes into existence, the very real question is no longer an existential crisis. Just where is the money coming from?
“I have no idea,’’ said another board member at an affected school. “The money does not exist.’’
“Finally, someone said it out loud,’’ said a board of trustees member at another institution. “This is so irresponsible.’’
“No one is flying the plane,’’ a board member at one of the schools affected said. “There’s not even a plane. It’s a hot air balloon. Whatever way the wind blows, that’s the way college sports go.’’
3) Except somewhere along the line the spending steamrolled ahead of the profits.
Facility one-upsmanship, all in the name of attracting better recruits, led to practice facilities with mini-golf courses (Clemson), marble showers in the locker room (Oregon) and sensory deprivation tanks (Georgia). Then came more staff – to run the analytics and sports performance and nutrition and, in some cases, the head coach. Texas has not one, not two but three special assistants to the head coach
According to the KnightNewhouse College Athletics Database, in the last 10 years Penn State’s football spending has jumped 113% but the entire department’s revenues have grown only 83%. At LSU, football spending jumped 44% and revenues just 40%.
In the same decade, football coaching salaries (the entire staff) jumped 106% in State College and 90% in Baton Rouge while ticket sales only added an additional 33% and 37% respectively and donor contributions jumped 53% and 66%.
4) Virginia Tech recently announced a planned $229 million investment in athletics over the next four years. Along with seeking donor support for $30 million of that annually, the university said there will be “limited increases in student fees.’’ In 2024, student fees generated $14.5 million for the athletic department.
“That deal should terrify boards everywhere,’’ one of the trustees said.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/31/sport/college-football-coach-buyouts
FWIW:
Serendipitously, I just posted this Blog a few hours ago:
Penn State Athletics: The Fiscal Cliff Is Closer Than They Think – BARRY FENCHAK
PSU very prominently mentioned.
Some excerpts from this very "on-point" article:
1) Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft, who through a spokesperson declined comment for this story, has insisted that Franklin’s buyout is “an athletics issue. This is not the institution’s issue. We in athletics are covering the costs.”
But from where? “No one has the answer,’’ one of the board members said.
2) Except now, as some of those bills come due at the same time revenue sharing comes into existence, the very real question is no longer an existential crisis. Just where is the money coming from?
“I have no idea,’’ said another board member at an affected school. “The money does not exist.’’
“Finally, someone said it out loud,’’ said a board of trustees member at another institution. “This is so irresponsible.’’
“No one is flying the plane,’’ a board member at one of the schools affected said. “There’s not even a plane. It’s a hot air balloon. Whatever way the wind blows, that’s the way college sports go.’’
3) Except somewhere along the line the spending steamrolled ahead of the profits.
Facility one-upsmanship, all in the name of attracting better recruits, led to practice facilities with mini-golf courses (Clemson), marble showers in the locker room (Oregon) and sensory deprivation tanks (Georgia). Then came more staff – to run the analytics and sports performance and nutrition and, in some cases, the head coach. Texas has not one, not two but three special assistants to the head coach
According to the KnightNewhouse College Athletics Database, in the last 10 years Penn State’s football spending has jumped 113% but the entire department’s revenues have grown only 83%. At LSU, football spending jumped 44% and revenues just 40%.
In the same decade, football coaching salaries (the entire staff) jumped 106% in State College and 90% in Baton Rouge while ticket sales only added an additional 33% and 37% respectively and donor contributions jumped 53% and 66%.
4) Virginia Tech recently announced a planned $229 million investment in athletics over the next four years. Along with seeking donor support for $30 million of that annually, the university said there will be “limited increases in student fees.’’ In 2024, student fees generated $14.5 million for the athletic department.
“That deal should terrify boards everywhere,’’ one of the trustees said.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/31/sport/college-football-coach-buyouts
FWIW:
Serendipitously, I just posted this Blog a few hours ago:
Penn State Athletics: The Fiscal Cliff Is Closer Than They Think – BARRY FENCHAK
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laugh.
