​Mary Popish

      Ryan O’Rourke is a sophomore at the University of Oregon studying business administration. He’s also a midfielder on the Oregon men’s club lacrosse team. When he started at Oregon, he didn’t necessarily think that his business skills would come in handy in lacrosse. But as the team’s president and head of its student-athlete board of administrators, he has the chance to put both of these skill sets to use.
      “We run a budget of about $150 thousand,” O’Rourke says. “Most of that goes towards travel and tournament fees and equipment.”
      According to University of Oregon Club Sports budget records, the men’s lacrosse budget actually amounts to $120,428, though it varies year to year. O’Rourke is familiar with the budget because he was partially responsible for writing it. At the University of Oregon, club sports are meant to give students the opportunity to take on administrative and leadership roles for their teams, which include planning, scheduling, and budgeting.
      “Student involvement is really important to us,” says Erin McConaghy, the president of the executive board for University of Oregon Club Sports. “Students should run their own clubs.”
      McConaghy is a junior and is a member of the water polo team. She has been one of the water polo team’s coordinators – similar to O’Rourke’s role as lacrosse team president – since her freshman year. She says that being an athlete, a coordinator, and a member of the executive board has given her a good understanding of how club sports are budgeted and why different clubs operate under larger budgets than others.
      “The biggest reason for funding from club sports is travel expenses,” she says. “Teams like lacrosse or hockey, big teams with a lot of traveling because of the leagues they’re in, they’re going to need a lot more money than some of our smaller teams that can stay local.”
      University funding for club sports comes from incidental fees associated with student tuition. This year, club sports received nearly $500 thousand in incidental fees. Those funds are distributed among the 47 club sports at the University of Oregon. Men’s lacrosse received $11,861, fifth most of any club sport.
      Although four teams received more funding from club sports, men’s lacrosse operates under the largest club sports budget. According to O’Rourke, the majority of the budget comes from player dues, which amount to about $2,500 per year. The team also holds independent fundraisers and has a strong booster and alumni program that brings in funding. As team president and head student-athlete coordinator, O’Rourke’s player dues are waived in exchange for the extra time and effort he devotes to administrative tasks.
      “I’m studying business administration, so it’s nice to have the chance to put it on my resume that I was a student-athlete and I can also balance a $150 thousand budget,” O’Rourke says. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s also really rewarding.”
      The budgets for Division I varsity sports at the University of Oregon function very differently. Athletes are not required to pay fees for participation, and they are not responsible for administrative tasks like budgeting and scheduling.
      At over $120 thousand, the men’s lacrosse team has the largest budget among club sports at the University of Oregon. The Division I men’s tennis team, which has the smallest budget among varsity sports at Oregon, has a budget of nearly $450 thousand. The football team has the largest operating budget among varsity sports at nearly $18 million.
     The Athletic Department at the University of Oregon, which claims to operate entirely independently of the University of Oregon despite receiving funds from incidental fees associated with student tuition, reported a perfectly balanced budget in 2011-2012. The budget includes everything associated with athletics at the University of Oregon, from equipment and facilities to scholarships and salaries. In 2011-2012, the Athletic Department reported that these operating costs – which totaled $88,324,101 – exactly matched the revenue generated from Oregon athletics.
     According to the University of Oregon’s Athletic Department budget report, athletic teams contributed nearly $25 million to the overall revenue for the Athletic Department. Of that $25 million, just over $20.5 million came from football. Football is by far Athletic Department’s biggest money-maker as well as its biggest spender, reporting just over $17 million in expenses.
     Football also reports the highest salaries for any varsity sport at the University of Oregon. In 2011-2012, the football program contributed over $6.5 million in salaries and benefits. The next-closest salary expenditure for varsity sports was men’s basketball at about $3 million, followed by women’s basketball at $1.5 million and baseball at just over $1 million. The lowest budget for salaries and benefits was women’s acrobatics and tumbling, at just over $140 thousand.
     Last year, head football coach Chip Kelly earned $2.8 million, not counting bonuses for winning the Pac-12 championship and Rose Bowl. After the season, Kelly signed a six-year contract extension for $20.5 million, which means a progressively higher salary each year. This season, Kelly is guaranteed $3.5 million. Next season, he will earn at least $3.8 million.
     Club sport coaches don’t earn nearly as much as varsity coaches at the University of Oregon. All Division I coaching positions are salaried through the Athletic Department, while club coach salaries depend on individual club charters. Club sports do not require coaches to be paid, and many of them aren’t.
     Phil Keebler is the men’s club lacrosse coach at Oregon. He doesn’t earn nearly what any of the varsity coaches at Oregon earn, but he is one of the few club coaches who get paid.
     “In our club charter, we have money set aside to pay coaches,” Keebler says. “I imagine that it would be easier to make ends meet on a varsity coach’s salary, but it’s at least nice to be getting something.”
     Keebler says he makes about $5 thousand a year. Despite the nearly thirty hours a week he spends on lacrosse activities for Oregon –  whether it’s running practice, recruiting, or designing workouts and plays – he says he needs to work a second job to get by.
     “I also coach a couple of high school teams,” Keebler says. “Lacrosse is what I do. I’d love to focus on Oregon lacrosse full-time, but that’s not an option on the club level. My salary comes from our individual club budget. As far as the University of Oregon is concerned, I’m a volunteer.”

Oregon Athletics: A Competitive Business