The University athletics task force will meet with University President Dave Frohnmayer for the first time this morning to discuss how the group will operate and what issues it hopes to address during its 18 to 24 months of existence.
In late fall , Frohnmayer and University Senate President Nathan Tublitz appointed 12 task force members — Tublitz is a member by virtue of his senate presidency — to advise Frohnmayer on national athletics issues that have bearing on the school and the Pacific-10 Conference . Frohnmayer is Pac-10 representative to the NCAA.
The major helping on the task force plate, however, will be the examination of Athletic Department operations and how those operations culminate with broader University academic endeavors.
“It will give Dave Frohnmayer the opportunity to be on top of issues as they pertain to our campus,” Athletic Director Bill Moos said Monday. “I imagine the ‘arms race’ will be one of the key discussion items.”
The “arms race” Moos alluded to is the growing competition between different universities’ athletic programs to build state-of-the-art facilities to attract talented recruits. The issue has become a topic of debate across the nation as athletic department budgets swell and expenditures increase.
The University Senate last spring drafted a resolution on athletics that aimed, in part, to slow the construction of new athletic facilities on campuses in the Pac-10. A committee of the Big Ten Conference passed a similar resolution in November.
“As Athletic Department programs become more successful and as their budget grows, the task force’s job becomes even more important,” Vice President for Administration Dan Williams said. “Success is one of the general issues we want to talk about.”
Task force deliberations also could debunk some misconceptions among faculty about where Athletic Department funding comes from, Williams said.
“It will give the faculty leadership a better understanding of how the Athletic Department is financed and how it contributes to the University,” he said.
Tublitz said it is essential for all parts of the University to be familiar with the school’s mission of educating students “to the best of our ability.” He said he believes the task force will facilitate a sharper understanding of the school’s mission.
“The Athletic Department is a part of the University and is dedicated to that mission based on the high integrity and values of the Athletic Department,” he said.
The task force idea grew from a series of meetings between University officials last spring, Williams said. The meetings were arranged to discuss the allocation of general-fund dollars to the Athletic Department. It became clear that for the health of University academics, it was necessary to wean the Athletic Department off the $2 million-a-year subsidy it received.
The task force is composed of students, faculty and administrators. English professor Suzanne Clark and associate law professor Margie Parisare co-chairs for the task force.