It would make sense to assume that highly-paid coaches are synonymous with programs that rake in cash. Those of us who are familiar with college athletics and — more specifically — Title IX know that is not the case. When an equal amount of resources and funding need to be put toward men’s and women’s college athletics, you end up with a problem like the one they currently have at Rutgers.
In banking terms, the Rutgers women’s basketball program is upside down. Bloomberg recently conducted an in-depth analysis of the state of the Rutgers athletic department and came up with an interesting find about Vivian Stringer. Stringer was paid $1.3 million last season in her 16th season as women’s basketball coach, making her the second-highest paid coach at the school. She also received a $1,000 monthly allowance for a car and $500 a month to play golf among other bonuses. That would all be fine had the program itself not lost $2.2 million in 2010.
Something is terribly wrong with this picture. Stringer is a Hall of Fame coach but has never even won a championship at Rutgers. At the end of the day, isn’t it all about money? The women’s basketball team is losing money at an incredible pace, and that money needs to be made up somehow. Bloomberg also discovered that 40 percent of sports revenue came from student fees and the university’s general fund. The teams themselves are not making money.
With that in mind, why should Stringer keep her job? Maybe it isn’t her fault that women’s basketball cannot generate revenue at Rutgers (or most other schools for that matter), but Rutgers is digging itself into a massive hole by paying her that much each year. Stringer has never won a title. Time to cut the cord. H/T to The Big Lead for the story.
