Although Athletics receives more General Fee money than any other department at Ohio University, a recent study reveals that most students would rather see their money spent elsewhere.
Most students did not consider the university's athletic reputation when making a decision to attend OU, and a majority would rather spend less money on Athletics than pay to maintain OU's Division I ranking, according to a survey released today.
Claims of proponents of big (Intercollegiate Athletics) spending often mislead the public
and ... student enthusiasm for ICA is far less than claimed by supporters according to the study.
The Center for College Affordability and Productivity, an independent, non-profit higher-education research center based in Washington, D.C., sent an online survey to 19,843 OU students asking their opinions about funding of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Of the 1,175 who responded, most were ignorant and hostile to athletics fees according to the study.
Despite the 5.9 percent response rate, the survey is an accurate representation of all OU students, said Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity and distinguished professor of economics at OU.
We feel fairly confident that this is a pretty decent sample
Vedder said. I would predict ... that you would not get significantly different results (if you quadrupled the sample size).
The university, however, disagrees.
It would be inappropriate to reach any conclusion about the majority of students at (OU's) Athens campus based on the limited results of this survey
said Becky Watts, chief of staff to OU President Roderick McDavis, in a statement. The response rate was low and was not representative of the student population.
Of those who responded to the survey, 94.4 percent would prioritize Athletics as lower than first on the General Fee scale, and 70.7 percent would rank it as less than fourth on the list of eight units that receive General Fee support. Also, 81 percent said they would not pay any additional money to the General Fee to maintain OU's Division I status - 63 percent of whom would rather pay less money to athletics even if that meant dropping to Division II.
Watts, however, said OU's Division I Athletics contributes to the university's visibility among prospective students.
Having a Division I athletic program assists in the recruitment of students who prefer attending a comprehensive university
with prospective students citing sports as a top factor in their awareness of (OU)
Watts said in a statement. It also provides a unique opportunity for alumni to engage with their alma mater. As a result
it creates enhanced opportunities for fundraising for academic and co-curricular programs.
Athletics rakes in more money from the General Fee - composed entirely of student money and used for non-academic functions - than any other department, as it receives 40.8 percent.
Although survey participants ranked Athletics as low on their priorities list, Watts said the General Fee Advisory Committee consistently places Athletics among its top funding options.
Over the years
this committee recommends Intercollegiate Athletics among the top priorities
Watts said in a statement. The committee
which includes undergraduate and graduate students nominated by the Student Senate and Graduate Student Senate
