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It will take the Athletics Department more than eight years to pay back the $1.25 million loan it took from the University last year.
Athletics Deputy Director Tim Cass said the department started paying back the loan at the beginning of July of last year. He said the University gave the department 10 years to pay back the loan, and that Athletics pays UNM $12,500 per month.
Cass said the University gave Athletics this one-time loan in June of last year because football ticket sales were lower than expected. The department also spent more than expected, and it needed the loan to balance its budget for expenses such as team travel, equipment and scholarships for athletes.
“Our projections and our budgets didn’t match our expenses,” he said.
Athletics got the loan in addition to a $50 increase in student fees, which the UNM Board of Regents approved last April to assist with the department’s annual operating and student-athlete budget.
Cass said funding for the University loan did not come from student fees, and the student fee increase is a separate issue.
He said the University did not charge interest on the loan, and Athletics organized a repayment plan for the loan at the time it was granted.
Cass said football ticket sales increased this year and that Athletics received more money for playing road games. He said these increases in revenue are the main sources of money the department uses to pay back the loan.
“We had a better year for football ticket sales this year,” he said. “And we receive, for example, a game guarantee for a road football game where we played the University of Texas this year and got $1 million. And we have several game-guarantee games slated.”
Cass said that although UNM is the highest-ranked athletic department in the Mountain West Conference, it spends less than other participating universities.
“What should be noted is that we have operated on the leanest budget and with the highest national finish,” he said. “We have self-generated about 83 percent of our own budget. Only 17 percent of our income comes from student fees or government or institutional support.”
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According to a budget document from Athletics, the department expects to spend $29.4 million this year. The department budgeted $13 million for personnel costs, $3.9 million for grants for athletes and $3.1 million for team travel costs. The rest is for other expenses, including utilities, insurance, dues, taxes and equipment.
The document also shows the department received $3 million in student fees for the current fiscal year. The largest portion of revenue came from ticket sales, which was $6.6 million, followed by corporate sponsorships, which was $5.3 million.
Cass said the amount of student fees Athletics receives from UNM is significantly lower than the amount of student fees other universities’ athletics departments receive. However, Cass would not let the Daily Lobo see the document from which he got this information.
Cass said Athletics has made efforts to limit its spending to make it easier for the department to pay back the loan.
“We primarily fly Southwest Airlines because there are no baggage fees,” he said. ‘That saves us $50,000 to $100,000. We’ve also done away with a lot of landlines in offices because people are using their mobile devices much more.”
Cass said that although the $29.4 million budget is primarily focused on operations of Athletics, aiding the department helps the University as a whole.
“Yes it’s affecting the 450 student athletes, but it’s actually affecting the rest of the students,” he said. “I think there’s an element of camaraderie that goes with having competitive academic programs. To simply just divide 450 from $29 million, I think, is a little shallow.”
