As an alum and current employee of the University of Massachusetts, I feel the need to respond to recent criticism regarding athletics at the university.
I’d like to offer an alternative perspective. First I would like to point out that the budget lines for athletics are separate from that of the operating budget of the university. It’s absurd to think that “taxpayer” monies would be enough to fully fund $1 million salaries for coaches.
Next I would like to offer several points of rebuttal regarding the losing record for football since the program moved up to FCS. The football program is one of few revenue generating sports at the university. That team, with their losing record, is responsible for funding scholarships, upgrades to facilities, and almost every other expense for all athletics on campus.
Non-revenue generating sports, and most importantly women’s sports, have benefited greatly from the funding football has been able to generate. Credit for this goes to the current administration, specifically Athletic Director Ryan Bamford, who is a champion of all student athletes but especially women’s athletics.
Another very important point of rebuttal is that most college athletes’ primary goal is to attain a degree and to be a contributing member of society. They understand that very few reach the elite athlete status of playing professionally. The football program has the most scholarship athletes on campus, therefore graduating more student athletes per year and providing benefits to society in greater ways than just entertainment on Saturday afternoons.
How fair weather to only support athletics, especially college athletics which are made up of 18-22 year old amateurs, only when they are winning on a high level like the days of John Calapari and Marcus Camby or Mark Whipple and the 1998 football team.
I cheered for the Red Sox my whole life without experiencing a World Series win until 2004. You would never have seen my support waiver solely based on their record and I would have cheered gleefully if they had spent “gobs” of money to acquire a more talented coaching staff in the hopes of bettering the organization.
Which leads me to my final point is that the recent level of criticism regarding coach’s salaries and the level of athletic talent recruited to play at UMass contradicts itself at best. The better the coaches, the higher the salary demands will be. The recruits will follow, as evidenced by the most recent recruiting class for football being the highest rated in school history.
Let us not be blinded by the losing record or unnatural phenomena within sports where criticizing youth and those just barely over 18, is acceptable. The student athletes that choose to attend UMass do so with pride and worked very hard to earn their places on the teams. I am of the opinion that adults should not feel comfortable assigning labels to them of lacking “respect for life and limb” or less than “top-flight.” It is a huge accomplishment to play Division 1 college athletics. I applaud the students and administration that supports them.
Amanda Moore lives in Northampton, works at UMass and is an alum.