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Is money really the root of all evil in college sports?
Published: 4/11/2012 7:22 PM
Last Modified: 4/12/2012 10:27 AM

Tulsa athletic director Ross Parmley said Tuesday at the Tulsa Press Club that escalating costs are his biggest concern as a college AD.

"I don't want to offend any coaches, that's not my intent, but $4-5 million to coach football is out of control," Parmley said (you can read Eric Bailey's story on Parmley's Press Club appearance here).

Excuse me, Mr. Parmley, Bob Stoops would like a word with you.

Oklahoma fans would likely argue Stoops, who will make $4.55 million the next two years, is a bargain considering the amount of revenue his football program brings to the athletic department.

I'm sure Oklahoma State fans would make the same case for Mike Gundy, who recently received a large pay raise for leading the Cowboys to the 2011 Big 12 Championship.

World writer Bill Haisten has an interesting story in Thursday's Tulsa World detailing the recent raises for the entire football staff. While university faculty and staff receive three percent merit increases, the football staff gets a minimum of five percent. One assistant will coach in 2012 with a 50 percent raise.

I wonder how that makes the average OSU professor feel?

You can read about additional sports figure salaries -- along with the salaries of some of your friends and neighbors -- in the Business section of Sunday's Tulsa World.

Obviously, people earn what the market allows. While some fans rail against the salaries of professional athletes, few question -- or even know -- the salary of their favorite movie star.

But money breeds power, and that power in the hands of a college coach can sometimes lead us down a dangerous road. Just ask Bobby Petrino.

The Arkansas coach's path of professional ruin is a sad punchline. Surely no one would question the coaches' blonde assistant or the story of his motorcycle crash.

And even if they did, who would stand up to make Petrino accountable?

Petrino's lies became so egregious Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long had little choice.

But it was still a tough choice to sack a winning coach making more than $3.5 million per year.

Eventually the escalating costs will become unmanageable for universities, and the television money will run out.

Then, and only then, will salaries stabilize.

But until then, ADs like Ross will be right at the risk of being left behind.


Reader Comments 9 Total
208228 (10 months ago)
Is money really the root of all evil in college sports? YES!
JS (10 months ago)
It is evil if it reduces resources used for academics. It is not evil if it doesn't. Most successful athletic programs return some of their revenues to university general funds to be used to support academics.

Parsley comes from a different perspective, a small university with large aspirations that has a gigantic problem with ticket sales for its "revenue" programs. TU has a tiny stadium in Div. I terms and never sells it out. TU has a smallish but nice basketball facility that in recent years has been mostly empty. TU has the smallest alumni base in Div. I football. So revenues from ticket sales, game broadcasts, and contributions will be minuscule compared even to OSU, not to mention the big money programs out there. Why else would TU volunteer to be slaughtered by OU. And OSU last year, not to mention Boise State?

For a football program that made $38 million, not in revenues, but in profits, from football operations in the 2009-2010 season, it is hard to argue that sending 1/12th of those profits to the Stoops is excessive. TU, on the other hand, loses money on football and has an unprofitable athletic program, but has to compete with large, profitable institutions for coaching talent. Parmley has a big disadvantage in football. Gonzaga has shown that small institutions can succeed in basketball, but in football?
                    
JS (10 months ago)
D***ed auto-correct. I know how to spell "Parmley."
That's a pretty good look at it, JS. Ross is in a tough spot, and it won't get any easier with some of the better C-USA programs moving out. TU desperately needs its basketball program to get back in the moneymaking.
Golden Hurricane (10 months ago)
Parmley has this all wrong. A guy like Bob Stoops, given the revenue generated by the success of Oklahoma football, is absolutely worth the money he is paid and is probably somewhat underpaid.
Parmley is both right and wrong. Conference realignment, which is fueled by TV dollars, is out of control, creating a distinctive group of haves and have nots. But like you say GH, salaries are determined by market value, and in that regard, Stoops is fairly compensated.
dryoungster (10 months ago)
The saying is actually, "the LOVE of money is the root of all evil". Money itself is not bad, loving it too much gets people in trouble.
Tulsabills (10 months ago)
TU needs to market it's sports far differently than OU & OSU. OU/OSU have large alumni bases that deliver a guaranteed attendance. TU has very little alumni, but is the ONLY real game in town. TU football could/should try & capture football fans of people who moved here from elsewhere or have no allegiance to OU or OSU.

Tulsa metro area population is closing in on a million people. TU needs to market it's football & basketball more like a pro team than a college team.

If Ross or anyone at TU ever gets that figured out, the sky is the limit for TU sports.
Tulsabills, that's a good idea, but it's easier said than done. TU doesn't have a pro product to market, nor a pro marketing budget.

I think it's possible for Tulsa basketball to rally the city with a consistent, winning product. But Oklahoma and Oklahoma State might be too powerful to overcome on fall Saturdays.
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Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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