Editor's note: The following editorial was published recently by the Mankato (Minn.) Free Press.
The committee charged with finding a solution for the University of Minnesota's sports budget woes has a mammoth if not impossible task ahead of it.
University athletics are projected to lose $31 million over the next five years, according to figures released last week.
That's unacceptable, and university officials know it.
Some say the solution should begin with the merger of the men's and women's athletic departments. The University is one of only five Division I schools nationwide to maintain separate departments.
Others point to the football program. It's the least profitable in the Big 10.
And it goes beyond beefing up the program. During the past six years, the University has increased spending about $3.8 million. Yet attendance hasn't improved significantly.
In fact, profitability has dropped from about $4.6 million in 1996 to about $1.6 million this past season. That trend must be reversed.
It's time for the University and other colleges around the nation to demand that their athletic programs be self-sustaining.
In Minnesota, perhaps it's time for University athletics to acknowledge that it can't be all things to all people. Some sports are going to have to go.
On an academic front, the University doesn't offer every imaginable degree. Why then should the athletics department offer almost every imaginable sport?
Surely, gender equity plays a role. But overall, the University needs to find the appropriate balance. Rather than just adding programs for women, it's time to cut programs for men. It's happened at other schools. The University of Wisconsin dropped baseball to meet its gender equity requirements.
In these economic times, subsidizing athletics is no longer acceptable. The committee charged with finding a solution must accept that premise and find a way to balance the budget within the programs themselves.
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