The University of Utah, as a public institution, has long been required to divulge financial details of its athletic department. Utah spent $11.4 million last year on its men's and women's varsity sports.
Brigham Young University, which spent more than $14 million on athletics during the 1995-96 school year, is in unchartered waters, however.BYU, as a private school, had never been required by law to release its athletic budget, so it hadn't - until now.
The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act of 1994 required that all colleges and universities that receive federal money make their 1995-96 athletic budget available to the public by Oct. 1, 1996. Since BYU receives federal money in the form of Pell Grants some students receive to pay tuition, BYU was forced to reveal its athletic budget for the first time ever.
Of the $14.1 million BYU spent on athletics last year, $11.3 million (81 percent) went to fund men's sports. Football expenses totaled nearly $5.4 million. The eight women's teams combined expended $2.7 million.
While football is, by far, the most costly sport, it is also the biggest revenue source for BYU athletics. The Cougar football team had a 1995-96 revenue of $6.8 million. The other money-making sport, men's basketball, added $2.4 million of revenue while costing $1.5 million. A third major source of revenue comes from student fees.
"Football and basketball fund themselves and pay for a little more," said BYU vice president R.J. Snow, who oversees the athletic department. "Most of the money we use in funding women's sports comes from student fees, which are part of the tuition students pay."
Snow said no money from the LDS Church's tithing fund goes to church-owned BYU's athletic department.
Salaries for specific BYU head coaches were not made public, but the average salaries for the coaches were listed. The head coaches of the BYU women's teams made an average of $49,932, which is surprisingly slightly more than the $48,327 in base pay for the average men's head coach. That doesn't include, however, the outside money football coach LaVell Edwards and basketball coach Roger Reid make from TV/radio shows, shoe contracts, summer camps and so on.
By comparison, the average salary for men's head coaches at the U. is $54,217. Women's head coaches at Utah earned an average of $42,134.
Here are a few more comparisons between the Y. and the U.:
- The assistant coaches for the BYU men's teams made an average of $34,004 - some $10,000 less than the $44,868 U. men's assistants averaged.
- The average salary for the assistant women's coaches was $20,595 at BYU, which is nearly identical to the $20,005 average at Utah.
- BYU's $14.1 million athletic department expenditure was approximately $2.7 million more than Utah's $11.4 last year.
- BYU awarded $1.17 million to male athletes in student aid (70 percent of the total) while women's received $500,507 in student aid for a total of $1.67 million. Utah awarded $2.38 million in student aid - $1.51 million for males (63.6 percent) and $866,062 for females.
- BYU spent $308,999 for recruiting, while Utah spent $377,454.
- There were 445 total varsity athletes competing for BYU last year - 277 men, 168 women. Utah had 384 total athletes - 227 men, 157 women.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
BYU athletic budget
1995-96 men's expenses
Football $5,375,231
Men's basketball 1,515,422
Unallocated expenses 2,256,487
All other men's sports 2,191,712
Total expenses 11,338,852
1995-96 women's expenses
Basketball 413,160
All other sports 2,124,290
Unallocated expenses 186,153
Total expenses 2,723,603
Total budget $14,062,455
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BYU-Utah comparison
BYU Utah
Average men's salaries
Head coaches* $48,327 $54,217
Asst. coaches $34,004 $44,868
Average women's salaries
Head coaches* $49,932 $42,134
Asst. coaches $20,595 $20,005
*-Does not include income from TV/radio shows, shoe contracts, summer camps, etc.