When he was introduced as the Bulldogs’ baseball coach last week, Scott Stricklin talked about how important it is to “wow” recruits when they’re brought onto campus.
“That’s what we talk about all the time,” said Stricklin, who was head coach at Kent State for nine years before accepting the UGA opportunity. “At some point, when a recruit is on this campus, we need him to say ‘Wow.’ And that’s what Foley Field is going to do in the very near future. So we’re excited about that.”
Trouble is, the Foley Field renovation has been on the drawing board for nearly two years. Thus far, only $1 million has been raised for the project, one-fifth of what is needed before construction can begin. Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity wants to raise half the money needed for the $10 million project before breaking ground. It’s an approach he brought with him from Florida, where he handled the Gators’ business affairs for 18 years.
“It’s important to (raise funds for Foley), just like with any other project we’ve had,” said McGarity said this past week. “We’re going to be really aggressive in that process.”
Such has been the tight-fisted approach of the Bulldogs for the past decade or so. When it comes to financial responsibility, few athletic programs can claim to be UGA’s equal.
UGA recently approved a $93.2 million budget for the next fiscal year (which begins July 1). That ranks seventh in the SEC in terms of revenue. But few other teams in the league — or the nation for that matter — can hang with Dogs when it comes to money in the bank.
According to financial records released at the UGA Athletic Association’s end-of-year board meeting last month, the Bulldogs have a whopping $69.7 million in their reserve fund. The athletic department’s operating budget for fiscal year 2014 is $78.6 million.
But, while Georgia has all that cash, the school isn’t flaunting it through sparkling new facilities. Recently dismissed baseball coach David Perno ranked the Bulldogs’ baseball complex, including the stadium known as Foley Field, ranks 12th or 13th among the 14 SEC teams. And that’s after more than $1.5 million of improvements (new scoreboard, permanent seating on “Kudzu Hill”) in the past year.
Even after Georgia dresses up Foley Field, it will fall short of some of its SEC counterparts in terms of extravagance. South Carolina opened a new $35.6 million stadium in 2009. Texas A&M recently completed a $24 million renovation of its ball park. Arkansas’ palatial Baum Stadium added 22 luxury boxes just a few years ago. LSU’s Alex Box Stadium seemingly gets yearly upgrades.
Then there’s football, where Alabama has poured in $66 million to expand Bryant-Denny Stadium. Just last month, Texas A&M unveiled plans for a $450 million renovation of Kyle Field.
In contrast, UGA’s athletic board approved $2.2 million in facility projects to come out of its $70 million reserve fund last month. That prompted one board member to express concern.
“I just think that’s a pretty small amount when you look at the magnitude of our facilities and our investments,” said Bill Archer, a retired executive from Georgia Power. “And then you look at our reserves. We just need to make sure we’re keeping up.”
Archer’s keep-up-with-the-competition sentiments are shared by many Georgia fans. They don’t care how much money the Bulldogs have in the bank. They’re more concerned about whether it is being utilized to win SEC games.
McGarity assured Archer and the board that Georgia is doing just that.
“I don’t think any coach or staff member at the University of Georgia can say they don’t have the resources they need. Not one,” McGarity said at last month’s Athletic Association meeting on St. Simons Island. “If there is, I hadn’t heard about it. There are no excuses from that standpoint.”
And it’s not like Georgia has done nothing. The Bulldogs completed a $40 million renovation of the Butts-Mehre football complex just two years ago. And UGA has another $7.7 million on the books in previously approved projects either in progress or just completed.
That said, don’t expect Georgia to be blowing up 51-year-old Stegeman Coliseum anytime soon.
“Could we have bigger and more modern stadiums?” McGarity said. “Probably yes, but there’s a cost associated with that.”
According to a report in the Birmingham News in December, the Bulldogs ranked seventh among SEC athletic programs in revenue at $91.7 million. That was 15th nationally. Alabama, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Auburn and Arkansas all were ahead of Georgia last year in generating money.
But it’s all relative. Georgia is one of only 22 Division I programs nationwide currently operating in the black, according to McGarity. The Bulldogs have managed to keep their football ticket prices in the bottom-half of the SEC while also giving the university $4 million a year ($5.5 million when their annual lease agreement with UGA is factored in).
In contrast, Tennessee is saddled with more than $200 million of debt with reserves of just $1.95 million, according to Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal. The Vols spend $21 million a year on debt payments.
“It’s not a rosy picture at every institution,” McGarity said. “We are very, very fortunate, and great work has been done for many, many years. We’re just trying to maintain that sense of responsibility here.”
That is why Georgia prefers to approach its finances conservatively. Despite more money coming into the SEC than ever, there are actually lower profits because of spiraling costs that result from skyrocketing coaches’ salaries and increased spending among non-revenue sports. UGA is projected to make $5.5 million in 2014 after netting $6.1 million this past year.
“It’s going to take some discipline from this board going forward, from the administration,” UGA President Michael Adams, who retires at the end of this month., said at the athletic board meeting. “There are some places that are running headlong toward a cliff. … In my opinion, it will require some continued self-discipline for us to stay in the black. But I don’t think it’s impossible for us to operate in the black and compete.”
