Now that the estimated numbers are in for the cost to operate a football program at East Tennessee State University, the necessary fee to start a team must be approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents for the school to move forward with any football plans.
The Finance and Business Operations Committee of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the governing body for ETSU, was scheduled to meet Tuesday in Nashville to consider fee requests from various schools, including the $125 per student per semester fee approved by the ETSU’s Student Government Association in January.
That meeting was postponed due to member scheduling conflicts. A new date has not yet been scheduled, though it should be known by early this week.
This committee must vote on the fee before it goes before the full board for a vote. Any recommendation coming out of a Finance and Business Operations Committee meeting is not the final word.
Keep in mind, the board will not approve ETSU to start a football program; the board only approves, or rejects, the implementation of the new fee.
This fee would be necessary to establish a football program because it would collect about $2.5 million in the 2013-14 school year and then an estimated $2.8 million annually after that, according to documentation from the school that was given to the TBR.
In this documentation ETSU administrators estimated a football program would earn just under $4.5 million each year and cost just under $4.9 million in operating expenses, miscellaneous expenses and gender equity costs by the 2018-19 school year.
A deficit would occur by the time a team is fielded in 2015 and be at a little more than $426,000 by 2018-19. But it would be covered by the student fee.
That fee would have the chance to accrue for a few years because the main expense at first would only be for coaching salaries. This money would be used to cover any deficits that would occur until the program is established.
ETSU Interim Athletic Director Richard Sander has been meeting with many people across the region and coaches across the nation, including former University of Tennessee football coach Philip Fulmer on Friday.
Sander said all these conversations have been intended to glean information on possible coaches, budgets, facilities and every aspect on “trying to start a football program from scratch,” Sander said.
Sander said Fulmer thinks ETSU has a great opportunity to generate excitement and experiences around a football program for students and for people in the region.
“He thinks it’ll be great for our alumni to have a chance to come back and watch football, just to try to do some really good things for this whole area to hopefully get people excited in not only Johnson City, but Kingsport and Bristol and Greeneville and this whole general area, to give them something to really kind of put their arms around and become a part of something that’s fun and cool and neat,” Sander said.
jcresident writes:
March 10, 2013
8:03 AM
Here comes the 10 anti-footballers saying the same thing they say after every football story
Hillbilly1955 writes:
March 10, 2013
11:24 AM
A waste of everybodies money in the interest of the few. How does football improve ones education or help the future leaders of this country to form intelligent decision making skills. An institution can't afford to lower the cost of tuition, but can somehow find the funds for a sports program. Can't afford proper security, but can afford upkeep costs for a stadium. Seems curious to me.
tennesseebob writes:
March 10, 2013
11:37 AM
Bringing back football is absolutely awesome!!!
easttnbucs writes:
March 10, 2013
1:28 PM
Can't wait for football to come back! It will be great for our region and the university. Of course there are non-football people complaining. This time around it will be done right, led by Sander and Noland. It's funny how people are fussing about an extra $125 when tuition is $6000. Go somewhere else to school
ETSUAlumnus writes:
March 10, 2013
6:06 PM
I fully support football's return at ETSU. Football is an anvenue to build community, just as the arts foster a vibrant sense of community in lovely areas such as ours. I commend Dr. Noland and Dr. Sander for striving to build not only community in our region, but also strengthening the sense of community within ETSU--a University that means so much to so many of us and is vital to the livilhood of this area.
I'm ready to write my check.
DrPat writes:
March 10, 2013
8:43 PM
I also support the return of football to ETSU. I'll write my check!
BTDT writes:
March 11, 2013
8:20 AM
The reasons it FAILED last time are still valide today and tomorrow...want college level football, get a season pass to UT games! Trying to bring it back is beating the same dead horse as trying to bring back downtown...pointless....move on...get a life...
baby1 writes:
March 11, 2013
9:43 AM
I agree with possum innards! Funding needs to go elsewhere! Football at ETSU is a waste of $$$. TBR is already hiking up tuition each year to an astronomical amount. College grads can't find jobs and are asking for loan forgiveness. And you're talking about adding on more fees for a football program? PLEASE. You're insane to support this.
Hardly anyone went to the games before and they might now, but they'll find something else to do later. The excitement won't hold.
countrytoo writes:
March 11, 2013
11:15 AM
The state and government gives money to each collage and school to help with the unforeseen cost of the schools expense and what is left over the school does with it what they want which in this case will go toward football. It is sad that all the students have to pay a higher tuition for the sport of football, a game that I don't watch, but I know that there people that love the game. For the people that want it back so badly, why can't they pay more for tickets to watch the games, instead of the students having to pay for the sport. For the students to pay more for them to get an education is a stupid way to go about getting their football games back. The educators there needs to realize that the students are having to get student loans to go to school. In short I don't believe that the students should foot the bill on a sport that looses money every year!
brockmanra writes:
March 11, 2013
11:47 AM
To ask students to contribute to a football team without presenting details on how the program will be better than before is not fair. No one would invest in a corporation without complete knowledge of the expenses and individuals who will be running it.
It is public knowledge that the program will operate at a loss. It is my understanding that the reason the program was previously discontinued is because of not producing a profit. My million dollar question is what will be different in 2016? How are you going to make the program profitable?
Please understand, I love football and think sports are a huge part of students college experience and if done correctly, it can bring a community together. But all of us know, if the team doesn't win, the community and students won't come to the games.
Take a look at the basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer, and track/field events. I don't see the community or students packing those stands to support the athletes who are working hard at their sports. So why is football any different?
Show me the business plan where you have management in place to make a football program run profitable and when students/community come out to support ALL sporting events, then ask me to pay more tuition. But as of right now, a football team appears to be an "ego" trip for some top administrative members who are trying to climb a corporate ladder at the students expense.
NiteRider writes:
March 11, 2013
12:31 PM
I don't think anyone would argue that football would benefit the community. The argument against it is that it is not profitable and operates at a loss, which the folks at ETSU agree with. The students are having to support this out of their own pockets. Also, I am a huge football fan. Love it. Go to games. Watch it on TV. Read about it. I'm not going to spend my Saturday watching ETSU play SE Kentucky Tech, regardless of the venue. I'm going to be watching UT or another major team play. Yes, Appy State does really well with their football program. But what other major teams would that area support within driving distance? There isn't one. So the bottom line is that the program wasn't profitable and no forecast shows it to be profitable in the future. If this was proposed at a private business, the ideas would be in a trash can somewhere. I'm sure the med school and pharmacy school don't operate at a loss.
etsudolfan writes:
March 11, 2013
12:40 PM
and let the football hating begin in 3....2.....1 Go Bucs! Haters gonna hate! ETSU Football!
provided.