Florida leading way in SEC in spending on women?s sports

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Florida leading way in SEC in spending on women?s sports

OMAHA, Neb. ? I don?t believe in objectivity in journalism, not because I don?t think it?s admirable. I just don?t think it?s attainable. Each reporter comes into his or her jobs with a set of experiences, both personally and professionally, that shape their viewpoints.

I do, however, believe in fairness and treating each story and each source with it. That?s a whole different debate that can be discussed later. But I share all this because the story I wrote today is one that is a perfect example of the struggle in striving for objectivity.

Title IX turns 40 years old today, and to say the law shaped my life would be an understatement. Without it, I would not have had the opportunities to play sports growing up. I surely would not be covering them.

I believe strongly in the goal and aspirations of Title IX, and I cringe at its misapplication and the misconceptions that come with it.

Perhaps that?s why it was refreshing to write a story about a program that is fulfilling the expectations of the law, and even exceeding them. The easiest way to measure Florida?s success in women?s sports is just to look at the titles ? 109 in the SEC since 1979-82. Considering the men have been competing in the conference for more than twice as long, that?s remarkable.

And it speaks to a commitment of resources, in hiring coaches and building facilities, spending on recruiting and marketing women?s teams.

?There?s a lot of resources here but they?re limited. They?re not endless,? said Lynda Tealer, Florida?s senior women?s administrator. ?No matter if it?s a big spot, a small pot ? it?s always about making decisions. If it?s the forefront of your mind, provide equitable opportunities, that?s how you?re going to approach your resource allocation.?

Of course, it is never so simple to only look at the money and the titles. Complying with Title IX is far more complex than that. But it does give a sense of the philosophy of a department.

A look at Florida?s spending shows its commitment to women?s sports. The following information is pulled from yearly reports each school files with the NCAA. There is far more information in them than fits in this table, but I have tried to pull pertinent information to look at how they spend on their women?s programs.

With the exception of Arkansas, the information is from 2011 reports. The info on the Razorbacks? is from 2010. South Carolina did not provide its report. As a private university, Vanderbilt does not have to provide its information in response to Freedom of Information requests.

School	Head coaches? salaries	Assistant coaches salaries	Support staff	Recruiting	Travel	Equipment	Game expenses
Alabama	$1,915,046	$1,825,402	$605,850	$354,665	$1,876,838	$349,971	$450,963
Arkansas*	$1,670,958	$1,375,714	$390,562	$480,686	$1,888,294	$85,248	$641,175
Auburn	$2,020,418	$1,806,607	$522,290	$586,728	$1,584,909	$586,228	$517,242
Florida	$2,416,708	$2,067,145	$519,241	$463,183	$2,534,142	$717,432	$707,614
Georgia	$2,052,613	$1,665,892	$1,567,072	$501,523	$1,240,987	$436,916	$553,621
Kentucky	$1,805,517	$1,564,565	$395,269	$394,811	$1,620,440	$403,893	$207,020
LSU	$2,036,312	$1,723,624	$323,248	$353,808	$1,679,615	$684,332	$373,769
Ole Miss	$1,174,239	$980,060	$1,343,398	$288,921	$1,431,690	$426,339	$403,551
MSU	$833,520	$751,575	$143,972	$245,351	$847,302	$235,297	$197,906
South Carolina	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Tennessee	$3,642,266	$2,168,804	$1,132,405	$417,252	$2,237,693	$444,065	$584,865
Vanderbilt	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA

School	Marketing	Camps	Facility rental	Other	Total (women)	Total operating expenses	No. of teams	Pct. of operating budget spent on women?s teams
Alabama	$162,399	$54,558	$257,771	$524,468	$14,214,919	$105 million	12	13.5 percent
Arkansas*	$39,454	NA	$3,095,622	$500,689	$13,574,041	$71.8 million	11	19.0 percent
Auburn	$234,855	$0	$2,812,109	$380,465	$15,298,012	$80.6 million	12	18.8 percent
Florida	$710,988	$843,770	$660,411	$821,529	$17,259,385	$107.1 million	12	16.0 percent
Georgia	NA	$0	$2,773,556	$239,254	$7,543,178	$79.6 million	12	9.4 percent
Kentucky	$1,765	$363,133	$40,565	$307,584	$10,917,064	$82.8 million	12	13.1 percent
LSU	$77,754	$0	$294,877	$1,104,694	$13,152,360	$91.7 million	11	13.4 percent
Ole Miss	$9,705	$0	$1,226,699	$161,128	$9,870,993	$47.1 million	10	20.8 percent
MSU	NA	$111,867	$40,364	$266,046	$6,297,536	$51.5 million	9	12.0 percent
South Carolina	NA	NA	NA	NA	Na	NA	NA	NA
Tennessee	$395,755	$147,534	$608,753	$383,744	$17,216,429	$97.5 million	11	17.6 percent
Vanderbilt	NA	NA	NA	NA	Na	NA	NA	NA

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