A
certain unnamed instructor, unhappy with his collection of parking
tickets hinted in class that monies paid in parking fines went to the
Athletic Department. Doubting that this could be true, we decided to do
some research. Checking with the campus media archive, we found several
articles over the years complaining about fees and parking--but nothing
to substantiate the rumor instigated by that instructor. A Retriever
article dated September 8, 2008 quoted Helen Garland, Parking Services
Manager, who stated that there were 12,041 students in Fall 2007 with
only 7,021 parking spaces. An e-mail was sent to parking services, and
Ms. Garland responded: “Revenue from parking fines go the general fund
for UMBC. Meter revenue goes to the budget which covers parking,
transportation, parking maintenance and bond payment for parking
construction.” The information regarding the revenue from parking fines
was confirmed by Mark W. Sparks, Chief of Police, UMBC Police
Department.
So where does UMBC’s Athletic Department get its funding? Some of the
money needed is from the University and some is from state resources (www.umbcretrievers.com/info/retrieverclub). Monetary gifts to UMBC Athletics “are managed in accordance with the
University of Maryland Foundation's official policies and procedures
and approved Athletic Department guidelines.” The money is used for
scholarships, physical facilities upkeep, and academic support for the
athletes in addition to enabling UMBC to continue competing in the
America East Conference.
Both undergraduate and graduate students are accessed student athletic fees at UMBC. Financial statistics for some of the America East Conference teams was found on www.indystar.com/NCAA_financial_reports web page. Ad-hoc comparisons can be made by utilizing a pull-down menu. Comparing the student fees applied to athletics was interesting.
School
|
Number of Students
|
Student Fee Total
|
| University at Albany |
17,500
|
$3,192, 730
|
| Binghampton |
14,895
|
$3,597,227
|
| University of New Hampshire |
14,596
|
$6,913,818
|
| UMBC |
13,199
|
$5,191,591
|
The mandatory athletic fees are located on the student business services website: www.umbc.edu/sbs/manditory_fees.html The fees are applied towards intermural sports, recreational sports (sports clubs) and intercollegiate athletics. What does that mean for the average student? No need to pay for additional health club access; there is a weight room, two pools, an indoor running track and several rowing machines, treadmills, and elliptical bikes located in the Retriever Athletic Club. Students can sign up for group fitness classes. Information is on the Retriever Fitness and Wellness webpage: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/fitness-at-therac.
ReplyDeleteClub sports may require the payment of dues which help defray the cost of travel, equipment, and facility rental. This information was found on the Club Sports Frequently Asked Question page http://www.umbc.edu/sportclubs/index.php/faqs.
So while it was fun to try and see if UMBC spent as much money as some of the peer schools in the America East Conference it did not tell us as much as the three websites listed in this comment tell us where the Athletic Department gets its funding.