Univ., Ath. Dept., TAF further financial partnership in face of tough economic times

The University's $19 million budget cut has left many students and alumni wondering why the Athletic Department has seemingly not been hit financially.

The construction of two new stadiums and a basketball practice facility are part of the reason for that misconception.

"Students who say we should take money from athletics need to understand that we do," said Chancellor Mike Martin. "Athletics is the front porch to the University, but I always remind people that a front porch is only as good as the house it's attached too."

The University has always taken money from the Athletic Department and will be asking for more as a result of budget cuts, according to athletic director Joe Alleva and senior associate athletic director Herb Vincent.

The Athletic Department gives 3 percent — an average of about $3.5 million over the past few years — of its budget to the University for administrative overhead in a normal year. The department will be asked to give back 5 percent — about $6 million — of its budget to the University in the fiscal year from July 2009 to July 2010, Vincent said.

This does not mean the Athletic Department is short on funding for its current projects, but it does have less money to start future projects, meaning delays are possible.

"Some people are under the impression that we are not affected at all," Vincent said. "That's just not the case."

LSU's Athletic Department makes money through ticket sales, parking fees and television contracts, Alleva said.

The three sports that make a profit at the University are football, baseball and men's basketball, with football making up the majority of the profit.

"Football is the sport that supports all the other sports," Alleva said.

The Athletic Department is one of the few in the nation that takes no state money, charges no student fees and gives money back to the University, according to Alleva.

Vincent said when the University raises fees and tuition, the Athletic Department has to pay for the increase for the student-athletes under scholarship. That will amount to nearly $500,000 in the 2009-10 school year.

"Going from 3 percent to 5 percent is going to cost us $2 million, so now we have $2.5 million we have to go to our budget to find," Vincent said.

But ticket sales seem immune to economic woes. Alleva and Vincent said football season tickets are still being renewed at more than a 95 percent rate each year.

Part of the reason for the Athletic Department's ability to stay afloat during the economic storm is the Tiger Athletic Foundation.

The interplay between the Athletic Department, the University and the Tiger Athletic Foundation is a tangled web that lends to the misconception that TAF is part of the other two entities.

TAF was established in 1978 as the Varsity Club — a public division of the LSU Athletic Department — as a way to raise funds as a support to the program under then-athletic director Paul Dietzel, according to Rick Perry, executive director of operations at TAF.

Perry said the Varsity Club, which was based on a program Dietzel had established as athletic director at the University of Indiana, was replaced by Tigers Unlimited in 1983 and became TAF in 1987.

Perry worked in the Athletic Department during these changes and joined TAF in 1987, shortly after it became a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, meaning it must make its yearly federal income tax return form public but may keep all other financial records confidential. He said there were a few reasons for the change to a private organization, although he is not sure why the final decision was made.

"In a lot of foundations, [privtization] was the path they were taking," he said. "The real growth was when it became the Tiger Athletic Foundation. There was increased effort at that time to raise funds privately. It was the evolution of college athletics as a whole that led to it."

That misconception of TAF being one with the Athletic Department isn't a bad thing, Vincent said.

"We want people to know when they are giving to TAF, they are supporting the Athletic Department, although TAF is a private organization," Vincent said.

Thirty-one years later, TAF has grown to more than 30,000 members and has raised more than $50 million in purely philanthropic giving during the past eight years. In the 2007 calendar year — the latest available federal income tax return form — TAF made more than $26.3 million total, including philanthropic giving and money associated with ticket sales.

The CEO of TAF is Maj. Gen. Ron Richard — or "The General" as he is known to his peers — a 1968 University graduate who served 33 years in the Marine Corps before retiring as a commanding general. He joined TAF in 2001 at a salary of $82,000 a year and made $252,000 in 2007.

On September 8, 2002 The Advocate reported that TAF had 12,700 members. Roughly 1.3 percent of TAF members had given $100,000 lifetime and 76 percent had given less than $1,000 lifetime.

Richard said now that TAF has grown, less than 1 percent have given $100,000 in their lifetime.

"Our overarching mission is to ensure all of our student-athletes are provided the best of facilities and atmosphere so they can academically graduate and contribute to this great republic," Richard said.

Alleva said support from TAF is critical to LSU's athletic success.

"We would be lost without them," Alleva said. "They are critical in us trying to achieve our objectives of winning championships and trying to provide a quality experience for our student-athletes."