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Running head: LSU BUDGETING CRISIS
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LSU BUDGETING CRISIS
A Budgeting Crisis at Little State University
Alex Breitling, Lindsey Harrison, Matt Hartigan, and Rodney Thrift
Troy University
Summary
This case study is about Little State University (LSU) a small Division I school competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the Football Championship Series (FCS). LSU has 20 varsity sports programs, which have been organized into 16 sports programs (Men’s and Women’s Track and Field actually count for six total programs). LSU is more widely known for their strong football and basketball programs, which have had great seasons and are generating fantastic revenue. Academically, LSU has an enrollment of 16,000 students and has a female to male proportionality ratio of 1:1. Most of the educational programs listed at LSU are for undergraduate students but they do offer some master’s programs available.
Problem overview
The problem being implemented in this case study is that the state legislation wants to cut $800,000 from LSU’s athletic budget this fiscal year. This makes up a whopping 10% of their entire spending budget. LSU’s secondary problem is that by cutting $800,000 from their budget this means putting a hold on their capital projects for the sport programs. LSU’s mission statement specifically states that they want to compete at high levels and show integrity, character, and diversity, you cannot prove or provide the competitiveness for a functioning Division 1 school without facilities that can only worsen your likelihood of becoming a better program. LSU planned on completing six capital projects: leaky roof in arena, re-seeding softball field, computer ticketing system upgrade, resurfacing arena/stadium parking lots, renovate football locker room, and resurfacing basketball floor. Both fixing the leaky arena roof and re-seeding the softball field are crucial and need to be attended to immediately for the safety of the athletes. The rest of these projects can indefinitely hurt LSU’s chances of making a higher profit and giving fans the ultimate experience of a collegiate sporting event.
Information Gathering
To gather LSU’s correct financial expenses for the fiscal year, the Athletic Department’s budget spreadsheets provided in the case study. These were very useful in determining the exact expenses spent by the University throughout the year. Not only did these spreadsheets show every employee’s salary, it also showed all expenditures of each sport program, which aided in finalizing the price of each budget cut.
Being compliant with Title IX is a huge factor in determining if your school can compete in athletics with equal opportunities. By abiding by the U.S. Department of Education, LSU is able to find out if females or males athletes are being discriminated against so that they can make the necessary changes to the programs. Title IX is found on my different mediums but the m...