The following Observations summarize the primary considerations affecting the possible addition of NCAA Division I football. The Consultants’ Comprehensive Conclusions and Recommendations are provided at the end of this Executive Summary.
Policy Issues
Several major policy initiatives are influencing the decision on football. First, a recent student fee increase ("Student Life Referendum") called for the addition of two sports for women along with exploring other sports options; this has heightened the discussion on intercollegiate football. Second, the University and Athletics are anticipating a campaign to solicit gifts totaling around $60 million to fund the much needed Proposed Athletics Complex. Also, the University is exploring possible renovations to the Convocation Center – a key Athletics venue.
Furthermore, UTSA's President, Dr. Ricardo Romo, has dedicated 2006-2007 as a year of strategic planning for UTSA with the goal of charting steps to become a Tier 1 research university. The direction taken by UTSA athletics may very well have ramifications for the larger strategic planning process.
Through benchmarking with "Peer Institutions," UTSA will gain direction for remaining as a Division I-AAA institution (without football) or adding football and moving to NCAA Division I-AA and possibly to Division I-A.
NCAA Legislation for Division I-AA/I-A Football
If UTSA decides to advance from NCAA Division I-AAA to Division I-AA it must declare its intent the summer prior to its first year it plays a Division I-AA schedule; at that point, UTSA would count football as one of its minimum of 14 NCAA sports. UTSA must also play a minimum of 9 football contests while 50 percent of its total contests must be played against Division I-A or Division I-AA institutions. During that first year, UTSA would be eligible for the Division I-AA Football Championship.
It would be advantageous for UTSA to award the Division I-AA maximum of 63 scholarships as soon as possible to open up scheduling opportunities with Division I-A programs.
Playing Division I-A football would require UTSA to play 60 percent of its games against Division I-A institutions with a minimum of 5 home games annually against Division I-A programs. Scholarship maximums also increase to 85 full grants-in-aid. Financially, Division I-A members must annually offer at least 200 total grants-in-aid or spend at least $4 million in athletically related aid. In addition, Division I-A institutions must sponsor 16 sports compared to a minimum of 14 sports in Division I-AA and Division I-AAA. Effective Fall 2006, UTSA will have 16 sports.
Public support also is mandated for Division I-A membership. Division I-A requires an annual average of at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home football contests once every two years. Division I-AA does not have attendance requirements.
Implementation Issues
The major operational issues of UTSA's potential transition to Division I-AA and then to Division I-A begins with comparing its current sports profile with I-AA Southland Conference and members of prospective I-A conferences. Establishing the most appropriate timeline for advancement, recruiting football student-athletes, football scheduling, and achieving suitable conference membership(s) are integral to adding football.
The Consultants and UTSA have developed a possible timeline for starting football and expeditiously advancing to Division I-A. An abbreviated version of that schedule is presented on the following page.
Personnel and Organizational Design
The possible "fast-tracking" of football from I-AA to I-A hastens the need to strengthen Athletics’ infrastructure. Extra staff will be needed for established student services units like Academic Services and Strength and Conditioning while Equipment Operations and Video Operations will have contemporary structures. Expectations for increasing revenues, updating customer service along with funding facilities projects demands a redesign of External Affairs (Broadcasting, Marketing and Promotions, Development/Fundraising, and Sports Information). Essential staff such as the Roadrunner Club Director and Major Gifts Officer must be added quickly to meet aggressive revenue projections.
UTSA has already made a commitment similar to many Division I-A programs by providing the NCAA maximum number of coaching positions for its team sports (Basketball, Baseball, Softball and Volleyball).
Providing salaries comparable to UTSA's possible Division I-A peers will require substantial increases for head coaches in Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball and Softball. The salaries of UTSA's other head coaches as well as Athletics administrators compare favorably to Southland I-AA schools and regional Division I-A programs in C-USA, WAC and the Sun Belt Conference. As expected, the salaries of UTSA's Assistant Coaches are considerably lower than their counterparts in those same conferences; the only exception is Women's Basketball where UTSA's assistants average more than Sun Belt assistants.
Appropriately, Athletics' organizational design is being configured to support its Athletics Vision 2010. Athletics' organizational chart illustrates Division I best practices of clustering Internal Operations, External Affairs and Academic Operations. Sports teams are divided among senior staff, which provides efficient support for student-athletes and coaches. The addition of Football, paired with expanded revenue generating expectations, will mainly influence the design of External Operations.
Consistent with NCAA trends the University should strongly consider shifting oversight of Athletics from the Vice President for Student Affairs to the President. Both the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the NCAA have increased the emphasis on direct leadership for Athletics from an institution’s Chief Executive Officer. This is especially true for Division I with its need for timely decisions regarding institutional priorities, rules compliance and resource requirements.
Title IX Compliance
Maintaining Title IX compliance is required regardless of UTSA's NCAA membership classification. Currently, UTSA meets the first test ("proportionality") of the "Effective Accommodation of Student Interests and Abilities" component of Title IX. However, the addition of Women's Soccer in FY 2006 may require some form of roster management.
UTSA exceeds Title IX requirements by awarding more athletics financial assistance to women. Additionally, full scholarships for Women's Golf along with the addition of Women's Soccer will exacerbate this situation. UTSA should continue to monitor the variance of financial aid to men and women with respect to participation. If football is added, the current variance will assist in equalizing the distribution of financial aid.
Most of the remaining Title IX program components were equivalent.
Fiscal Issues
If UTSA adds football, Athletics expects the bulk of its near term revenue to come primarily from Student Fees and University funding (University Allocation and Tuition Waivers); however, the Athletics Department has projected significant financial growth from fundraising and corporate sponsors. On the expense side, using comparative EADA data, the Top 25 Division I-AA programs in FY 2005 had a total budget of around $4 million more than that of UTSA; the margin between UTSA and the 10 public regional I-A programs is around $12 million.
This report includes a possible 10-year Pro Forma (FY 2006 – FY 2015) that could support adding football. This proposed plan, "fast tracking" football from I-AA to I-A, shows UTSA's future budgets escalating dramatically from an anticipated FY 2006 total of $6.9 million to $18.1 million in FY 2015 – which is the soonest UTSA could compete in Division I-A. This substantial growth is driven by the addition of 85 football scholarships along with salaries and benefits for coaches and administrative staff.
External Revenue Issues
Athletics' External Affairs would need to greatly increase productivity to have the revenues necessary to support an accelerated transition to NCAA Division I-A. The urgency of this need is heightened by the current lack of a sophisticated Athletics' External infrastructure (Broadcasting, Development, Marketing and Promotions and Ticket Operations) common to Division I-A.
A FY 2004-05 sampling of 10 regional public I-A programs (C-USA, Big East, WAC and Sun Belt Conference) shows that they contribute an average of $1,445,146 from Men's Basketball tickets and guarantees to their athletic department's operating budgets. Football ticket sales added another $2,029,200 annually to those budgets; annual donor programs driven by priority seating brought in another $4,044,439. In contrast - UTSA provided approximately $650,000 from all external income (gifts, endowment income, tickets and sponsorships) in FY 2005-06. Looking ahead, UTSA expects to produce approximately $1.9 million from these primary categories in FY 2007-08.
Facilities
Most of Athletics' stadia, offices and support facilities have received only minor renovations since original construction in the 1970s. Meanwhile, the expansion of sports and required support services along with year around practice and competition has significantly stressed UTSA's Athletic facilities. The addition of Women's Soccer will magnify this problem. Football will require significant new facility construction and renovation, as well. As a result, the University is exploring the purchase of land near the campus or developing on-campus space for a Proposed Athletics Complex to serve Baseball, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Track.
In addition, renovations to the Convocation Center and the PE Building should be incorporated into master planning activities. The Convocation Center is a good facility for basketball and volleyball competitions and practice. However, the "backstage" support areas including locker rooms, offices, training room and storage are inadequate. Regardless of the decision to add Football, UTSA desperately needs more functional space for Roadrunner Athletics.
The Alamodome offers UTSA a centrally located, state of the art and proven facility, if the University decides to add football.
Support Systems Analysis
Collectively, UTSA's Support Systems are mature for NCAA Division I-AAA. However, a progression to Division I-AA and then I-A will demand a heightened sophistication of all Roadrunner Support Systems.
This progression will require four basic activities: (1) Design and rapidly implement an External Affairs model that offers optimal revenue and stewardship capabilities, (2) Develop contemporary facilities to support a championship level Division I-A program, (3) Hire and retain necessary personnel, (4) Establish dedicated operating budgets and adequate funding for all cost centers.
Additionally, the advancement of the Athletics Program can be less costly by assimilating appropriate Athletics Support Systems into similar University Departments (while maintaining dual reporting lines with Athletics). This practice, in areas such as CHAMPS/Life Skills, Compliance, Development and Facilities Maintenance, will minimize duplication of resources and improve collaboration.
The Consultants conclude that the study presents an expedited and aggressive approach to adding NCAA Division I Football at UTSA.
The Study's Pro Forma depicts an eight-year advancement period for football beginning with a 3-year Preparatory/Practice phase (FY 2007-2008 through FY 2009-10). In the next phase, UTSA would participate at the I-AA level for four years (FY 2010-11 through FY 2013-14). The final phase shows UTSA achieving Division I-A membership in FY 2014-15, with gaining membership in an appropriate Division I-A conference as the major challenge to that successful transition.
The financial feasibility of this Football initiative will be primarily determined by the University's success in generating sufficient external revenues. The direct costs for adding Football (personnel, scholarships, operations and infrastructure) grow rapidly over the eight-year period from $210,128 in FY 2007-08 to approximately $4.8 million for the first year at Division I-A. Primary revenues during the initial Division I-A year will come from Football related contributions, sales, sponsorships and guarantees ($2.4 million) with an additional $7 million in Student Fees and University funding. During the same eight-year period, the UTSA Athletics Department's overall budget increases from $9,267,552 to $18,151,001 in FY 2015.
The Consultants present these initial steps to UTSA for adding football:
1. Reach a University consensus that the advancement of intercollegiate athletics from NCAA Division I-AAA to I-AA and possibly I-A is in concert with UTSA's Vision, Mission and Strategic Goals.
2. Agree on the revenue and expense requirements for introducing and sustaining a competitive intercollegiate program with football. Primary revenue considerations outlined in this Study include enhanced external revenue sources, increased student fees and a continued commitment of University allocations. Local government partners also are anticipated as major sources of capital for UTSA Athletics.
3. Finalize plans for the Proposed Athletic Complex: funding, University master plan considerations, location, design, prospective partnerships and timeline for completion.
4. Expand this Study's Pro Forma to include revenues and expenses attributed to proposed Athletics capital projects.