05/2/08
Part one: Comparison of coaching salaries.<a href="https://www.thebakerorange.com/media/storage/paper1028/news/2008/04/11/Sports/Sports.Spending.Series-3317593.shtml">Part one: Comparison of coaching salaries.</a> Part one: Comparison of coaching salaries.
Part two: BU pays medical premium.<a href="http://media.www.thebakerorange.com/media/storage/paper1028/news/2008/04/18/Sports/Bu.Pays.Medical.Premium-3332596.shtml"> Part two: BU pays medical premium.</a> Part two: BU pays medical premium.
Part three: Equity among teams is top priority.<a href="http://media.www.thebakerorange.com/media/storage/paper1028/news/2008/04/25/Sports/Equal.Sports.Budgets.Top.Priority.For.Bakers.Athletic.Department-3347812.shtml"> Part three: Equity among teams is top priority.</a> Part three: Equity among teams is top priority.
PART FOUR: Player funds limited.
University of Kansas Athletic Director Lou Perkins loves winning. So does Mizzou’s Mike Alden and Emporia State’s Kent Weiser.
Baker Athletic Director Dan Harris is no different. And while he and his other administrative cronies may say winning isn’t everything, it’s awfully important.
Victory keeps fans in the seats, dollars in the budget and coaches their jobs. So, it is no surprise Baker does everything in its power to provide prospective student athletes with a place that facilitates success. In the end, however, the quality facilities, knowledgeable coaches and fine tradition are not what garner conference championships – it’s the athletes.
Consequently, in order to ensure those athletes are successful in the paint, on the court and between the hashes, hefty scholarship packages must be distributed each year.
Obligated to comply with the scholarship guidelines set forth by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, Harris said it is his job, along with workers in the financial aid office, to make certain the university fully funds its athletic programs while staying under its upper scholarship limit.
“Each sport has a mandated maximum from the NAIA,” Harris said. “This helps create some equity across the nation.”
Failure to act in accordance with those mandated scholarship ceilings could put the university’s athletic department in a world of hurt. Regardless of on-field triumphs, a school can lose eligibility for postseason play if the scholarship limits are not observed.
Those maximums, as defined by the NAIA, are the number of full scholarships an institution can allow each team to distribute to its players. Harris said the number of scholarships available for each team is in direct correlation with its roster size. This means there is the exact same amount of scholarships allotted for women’s sports, as there are men’s sports.
“If you look at the overall dollars, football has the highest amount of dollars spent,” Harris said. “Football is allowed 24 full-cost of attendance scholarships at Baker University, but that money has to be distributed to 110 players.”
Included in those scholarships are allowances for tuition and room and board, which totaled about $27,000 per year in 2007. The remainder of the sports at Baker are allotted somewhere between five and 17 full scholarships per team, depending on the size of their roster.
Small-roster sports like golf and tennis are on the low end of the spectrum while large-roster sports like soccer and baseball each receive 12 full scholarships. Volleyball serves as the school’s median and receives eight full scholarships per year.
Director of Financial Aid Jeanne Mott said the university rarely utilizes the full scholarship budget outlined by the NAIA.
“Institutional policy will not allow us to award over the cost of tuition in Baker money,” Mott said.
With respect to exact figures on how much each sport spends from its scholarship budget, Mott said she could not give out that information.
According to NAIA guidelines, certain athletes can gain academic exemption from the cumulative aid for their respective sport. Prospective student athletes with at least a 3.75 GPA or a 1200 on their SAT do not always count against a coach’s scholarship budget.
This, coupled with the obvious reasons, provide coaches with an incentive to recruit scholars who can compete in the classroom as well as on the playing field.
“Coaches are motivated to look for high academic performers and high quality skilled kids as well because those give you the best return on your money,” Harris said. “They don’t count against your limits, plus they also let you have winners on the field.”
Head women’s basketball coach Susan Decker said she looks for students who she knows will succeed on and off the court.
“From my standpoint, academics are really important,” Decker said. “It’s a situation where I only want to bring in someone who I am confident can succeed at Baker in the classroom.”
While Harris and his coaches certainly enjoy the benefits of academic exemptions, he believes the rule initiates an even bigger sense of competition during the recruiting process.
“Those well-rounded people are the athletes everybody wants,” Harris said. “So it makes it very, very competitive.”
Harris said he believes most coaches look at an athlete’s entire scholarship package before he or she decides on the cost of the athletic award. After the initial budget is distributed, the individual scholarships are at the discretion of the coaches.
In order to verify the coaches are staying under the scholarship cap, Mott said she and Baker coaches meet regularly.
“I’m in contact with them on a very regular basis,” she said. “We speak either on the phone, by e-mail or in person.”