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Show 4 | MyWeberMedia.com | April 18, 2019 The Signpost Archives WSU's athletic department is responsible for 330 athletes. GUARANTEED GAMES ENSURE MONEY FOR WSU ATHLETICS By BRANDON MAY Investigative Reporter Each year, Weber State University athletics spends $14,901,150 on all their 16 NCAA teams on campus, with 27 percent of that spending going to the football team. Of the 11 universities that compete in the Big Sky Conference, Weber State ranked third in spending behind the University of Montana and Montana State University. Weber State’s athletic department is responsible for over 330 student athletes. Many of these student athletes use their scholarship opportunities to receive their undergraduate degrees and may not have had the opportunity to do so without NCAA sports. In 2017 and 2018, Weber State athletics requested $2,294,840 from Wildcat student fees. Athletics then requested $2,347,955 for the 2018-19 academic school year. For 2019-20, Wildcat athletics re- quested $2,397,955 from student fees. WSU uses the funds from student fees to help pay for scholarships, which takes $1,970,915. $201,500 goes toward travel, $157,000 goes to medical costs, $38,540 goes to athletic trainers, $5,000 goes to softball coaches and $25,000 goes to the spirit squad. WSU’s spirit squad funding includes gear, apparel and assistance but also helps out the dance team. Because running a Division I program is expensive, smaller Division I programs like Weber State's use guaranteed games to help fund their athletic programs. Each year, major Division I teams pay smaller schools, like WSU, to play at their home stadiums. Guaranteed games allow schools like the University of Utah to fill their stadiums, sell concessions and play what should be a guaranteed win. Guaranteed games also mean there is guaranteed money for Weber State. Bigger schools will pay WSU Athletics anywhere from $200,000 to $700,000 to play them at the beginning of the season. “Many of the Football Bowl Subdivision schools will pay our schools from $200,000 and up,” commissioner of the Big Sky Tom Wistrcill said. “The money goes to their athletic program, and each school decides on what they want to do with it.” Because Weber State’s income doesn’t match the spending, WSU is forced to play in one or two of these games each year. The University of Montana and Montana State compete in the Football Championship Subdivision but don't play guaranteed games. Because of their huge fan support, boosters and other income streams, neither school needs to play in these games. For as long as Athletic Director Jerry Bovee has been at WSU, he has scheduled only one guaranteed game for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, respectively, each year. “I’ve always been an advocate of one game,” Bovee said. “When I got here, we played two each year to help with our budget, but since then, we are not in that place anymore.” Bovee said the money made in guaranteed games doesn’t just go to football but into the general budget for Wildcat Athletics. “The money we get from guaranteed games goes into our general budget,” Bovee said. “Even though football programs are expensive to run, we don't allocate it to just football. We don't budget that way.” Last year, Weber State’s expenses for football reached $3,986,758. WSU spent $1,930,140 on men’s basketball and $1,107,780 on women’s basketball. The rest of the 13 NCAA teams on campus spent a combined $4,542,555. Weber State’s funding from boosters, ticket sales and other income doesn’t quite reach the total expenses, hence the necessity for guaranteed games. “It’s a lot more expensive to run a football program,” Bovee said. “From the equipment and from the squad size. You’re |