Keeping sports alive, solvent

It's ironic that the good news this spring about the athletics fee is that it's not being raised. We should be grateful that at least the athletics department asked before taking advantage of university avenues to raise $1 million fast, however important the reason.\nAthletics make up an indispensable part of campus. Sports attract students to IU, provide a large part of IU's national reputation and bring in big donations from alumni who benefit the University as a whole. Beyond that, sports are just fun. The energy at Assembly Hall for a basketball game is contagious and invigorating. We wouldn't necessarily trade that experience for $30 back in our pockets, but students deserve to be treated as more than a ready ATM for the athletics department.\nThe shady nature of how the athletics fee was approved in the first place raises universal concern. Two aspects -- the principle of the issue and the precedent that it sets for future financial shortfalls -- are particularly disturbing and need discussion. At the moment, students need better answers from athletics. \nWe were mislead about the nature of the fee. We were told it would be temporary. If administrators knew it would take more than one year of the fee to support the athletics budget, they would have done much better to be straightforward about the extent of the problem and the size of the solution that is expected from students. \nIt would be convincing to hear from student-athletes the explanation of why it benefits the University to keep the athletics department solvent to support so-called "Olympic sports" -- everything except football and men's and women's basketball. Student-athletes of all sports achieve a remarkable balance between hard-core training and serious studying. Athletes, just like other groups on campus, enrich student life, and as students themselves, could better convey the athletics department's arguments for the fee.\nAs a campus, we need to conduct a dialogue with the athletics department about other measures to cut down costs and increase revenue. While Athletic Director Rick Greenspan has promised to present annual audits to the fee review board, there has not been enough discussion about other proposals, such as fewer out-of-state scholarships, selling alcohol at games and general cost-cutting in recruiting. We're not advocating any of these, but students and athletes alike will benefit from an open discussion of all possibilities that may help prevent such a shortfall in the future.\nFuture leaders at the University must head off problems before they become multi-million dollar debts. Stuff happens to everyone's checkbooks. We aren't asking for perfect predictions of expenses. We do require reasonable measures to bring costs under control and to bolster the money-making sports so that they can support Olympic sports. One important factor in this process will be input of student voices, not just student money. \nThe athletes, coaches and Athletics Director Rick Greenspan owe students a hefty thank-you. Perhaps athletics could, at a minimum, make the discussion of solutions open, especially because our pocketbooks are wide open.