AN OUTSIDE VIEW / Money

Money! Money! Money! It all boils down to money! Is it the root of all evil or is it what makes this country great? I haven’t quite figured that out yet. You may have noticed though that I write about it a lot. It’s probably because I don’t ever seem to have enough of it. I have two teenage sons. Need I say more? Like most families, we have had to learn to stretch our dollars to make sure that we have all of the necessities and, if we are lucky, maybe there will be a few bucks left for some of the finer things of life. But the nicer things depend upon the family income, which has a tendency to fluctuate since my wife owns her own business. I’m sure all of you business people out there can relate to that. No matter what happens, we have financial obligations to meet and at the end of the year, I have to make sure that we had more coming in than going out. That is ot an easy task in this day and age of I want it now. It is no different for the Seymour High School athletic budget and Eagles’ Athletic Director Gary Householder who sometimes must do a juggling act to make sure that all sports have adequate funds. Like all of us, his first goal is to see that each sport can meet its minimum needs. After that, he can consider the nicer things like new uniforms, facility upgrades, team camps, etc. “We need to generate about $150,000 per year to meet our budget needs,” explains Householder. That is much different than 21 years ago when he became athletic director. “We had football, baseball, basketball, and wrestling and that was about it,” he says. However, as Seymour has grown, so has the pressure to offer more opportunities for students. “We now participate in every single sport that the TSSAA sanctions or offers a championship event in,” he continues. With the addition of bowling this past year, the total number of athletic teams sponsored at the high school is now 18. Obviously, more students now have the chance to participate in athletics which is great. However, this also brings new challenges. “With the increased role of athletics comes more funding problems,” explains Householder. The problem is compounded by the fact the newer sports are generally not large revenue producers. Where does the money come from? No, very few of your tax dollars go toward athletics and Householder is quick to point that out, wanting to make sure that the public understands the real financial burden of providing a top notch athletic program. In an effort to educate us all about the athletic program and how it is funded, a relaxed Householder talks candidly about the budget that he manages. According to him, the County chips in $3,000 annually for the so-called minor sports. This amounts to about $300 per sport and represents only 2% of the total athletic budget. That leaves only 98% that has to come from somewhere. That somewhere is ticket sales, concessions, various advertising, fund-raisers by the booster clubs, participation fees, and individual donations. In many ways, football is the cash cow for the Eagles’ athletic program. Those are not Householder’s words. They are mine. Over one-third of the total revenue for athletics comes from football in terms of ticket sales, revenue from the football programs that are sold each week, and concessions. Football supporters also play a major role in the two annual fund-raisers sponsored by the athletic booster club although the money raised generally goes to the other sports. There is some pressure on Gary Householder, the football coach, to win so that Gary Householder, the athletic director, will have more money for his budget. Winning teams quite naturally generate more in ticket sales and a lot can depend on how far the team advances in the post season playoffs. For example, in 2000, the Eagles advanced to the state semi-finals and were rewarded with a $12,5000 payoff, a windfall of sorts for the athletic budget. However, last season, they were eliminated in the first round and earned only $1,500. The net effect was an $11,000 budget reduction for the current school year. Like we all do with our family budgets, Householder must get by with less which means something has to be cut. One thing that will go by the wayside is the team football camp this summer at Appalachian State University. “We can’t afford it,” he says. “Maybe, next year.” But what about the rest of the money? Well, we have gone this far, we might as well just tell it all and make sure everyone knows where the money is coming from. Ticket sales from all sports will generate approximately $70,000 per year. Of that total, $40,000 is from football and $15,000 is form basketball which shows you how little the other sports generate. The booster club hopes to raise somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000. The next largest revenue source is concession sales. They can be expected to net approximately $12,000 but this too is a little dicey since it is contingent upon attendance. The football programs that are sold will generate $10,000 annually and the advertising on the baseball field and in the gym will produce around $6,000. The rest must come from participation fees, smaller fund-raisers held by the individual sports teams, and donations. It can be complicated but even more difficult to manage. But when it is all said and done, when they close the books out at the end of the year, the total budget must be in the black. There is no margin for error or any sort of safety net. And it is Householder’s job to make sure of that. (Anyone with comments or questions about this or any other column can e-mail them to terry@seymourherald.com)