S.13-17

SFU

OHFICR OFTHK VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC AND PROVOST

University Drive, Burnaby, BC

Canada V5A 1S6

TEL 778.782.3925

PAX: 778.782.5876

vpacad@sfu.cn

www.sfu.ca/vpacademic

MEMORANDUM

attention

Senate

date

January 18,2013

FROM

Jon Driver, Vice-President, Academic & Provost

PAGES

RE:

Response to Questions from Senator Black

The following questions and comment were submitted by SenatorBlack during the fall 2012 term:

What is the current annual net expenditure on inter-collegiate student athletics at SFU? (This figure should

reflect full cost accounting and therefore include such items as tutors, facilities, all administrative personnel,

coaches, staff, etc.)

What is the current annual expenditure on athletic scholarships (that would not otherwise be awarded on

purely academic grounds)?

How many athletes participate in inter-collegiate athletics at SFU each year? (How many Varsity athletes do

we have?)

How do inter-collegiate athletes compare in terms ofdegree non-completion rates and CGPA to non-athlete

students at SFU?

have often heard it said that NCAA membership in particular — but perhaps Varsity sports in general --

renders SFU more attractive to international, premium fee-paying students. Wliat research supports that claim?

Can the value rendered to the University (e.g. the declining numbers ofinternational students we would

experience butfor Varsity sports) be quantified?

Perhaps I should emphasize that I am not opposed to University athletics per sc. I believe, in fact, that

competitive athletics afford excellent trainingfor leadership and cooperation. Sports arc great, and that may

include high-stress, ultra-competitive Varsity sports.

But most good things cost money.

At a time when

Departments are feeling real pain andfinding it difficult to sustain even their core functions, it seems to me that

Senate should reflect on the opportunity cost ofrunning our Varsity sports programs and should use the best

available information when making that evaluation.

Rather than answer each question individually, I thought it might be more useful to provide a short paper

(attached) that I hope provides relevant

answers, and also gives some context for the data.

Attachment (1)

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

ENGAGING THE WORLD

SFU

DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS & RECREATION

Student Services

Response to Questions from Senate - January 16, 2013

Simon Fraser University's Athletic operational data is posted annually on the U.S. Department of

Education's Equity in Athletics Data Report website: http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/

The data below corresponds to this public reporting.

QUESTION 1: What is the current annual net expenditure on inter-collegiate student athletics at

SFU? (This figure should reflect full cost accounting and therefore include such items as tutors,

facilities, all administrative personnel, coaches, staff, etc.)

The Athletic & Recreation department's total 2011-12 base budget was $5.9 m. Of the $5.9 m,

approximately S4.5m is from Recreation & Athletic fees collected from registered students

($33.48/$66.96

per student per term). In addition, Athletics also participates in fund-raising activities to

generate additional revenues for operations and athletic scholarships.

Of the $5.9m Athletics & Recreation budget, approximately S2.2 m was assigned to the administration

and maintenance

of the gym facility complex for athletics, recreation and community use; approximately

S2.4m was assigned to support varsity Athletic programming; $580k for services for athletes

(Physiotherapy, Media and Event services) and $742k assigned to support Recreation programming.

2011/12 Athletic

Recreation Operational Base

Budget

Facilities/Administration

2,201,876.00

Athletic Team Operation

2,392,476.00

Services for athletes

580,685.00

Recreation

742,766.00

5,917,803.00

Sources of 2011/12 Athletics Team Operating Funds

Sources of 2011/12 Athletic Team Operating Funds

Base Budget

2,392,476

78.45%

Other University Support

294,709

9.66%

Revenues

362,476

11.89%

TOTAL

3,049,661

100%

SIMON PRASEB UNIVERSITY

engaging the world

2011/12 Athletic

Team Expenditure:

2011/12 Athletic Team

Expenditure By Category

68,170

• Coaching Salaries

u Student Recruiting

Expense

Game-Day Expenses

• Other Support

Services

QUESTION 2: What is the current annual expenditure on athletic scholarships (that would not

otherwise be awarded on purely academic grounds)?

2011/12 Athletics Financial Aid

2011/12 Athletic Financial Aid by Team

Athletes

Football

278,853

27.09%

Men's Basketball

104,728

10.17%

Men's Golf

6,512

0.63%

Men's Soccer

101,303

9.84%

Men's Swimming

74,250

7.21%

Men's Track

30,725

2.98%

Men's Wrestling

54,720

5.32%

Softball

54,033

5.25%

Women's Basketball

88,228

8.57%

Women's Golf

4,425

0.43%

Women's Soccer

46,675

4.53%

Women's Swimming

36,720

3.57%

Women'sTrack

60,229

5.85%

Women's Volleyball

36,000

3.50%

Women's Wrestling

52,000

5.05%

TOTAL

1,029,401

100.00%

347

Sources of 2011/12 Athletic Financial Aid

Sources of 2011/12 Athletic Financial Aid

•

Univ Funds (base + one

time)

• Athletic Endowment

Income

Annual

Fundraising/Donations

QUESTION 3: How many athletes participate in inter-collegiate athletics at SFU each year? (How

many Varsity athletes do we have?)

Number of varsity athletes on each team are listed on the "Athletic Financial Aid by Team" table on page

QUESTION 4: How do inter-collegiate athletes compare in terms of degree non-completion rates

and CGPA to non-athlete students at SFU?

Of undergraduate studentsregistered in the fall 2012term, varsity athletes had an average cumulative

GPA of 2.74 at the beginning of fall 2012 as compared to 2.77 average cumulative GPA for all

undergraduate students.

As part of the NCAA eligibility requirements, a student-athlete must maintain satisfactory academic

standing and meet the 'progress toward degree' requirement, (i.e., completing at least 24 units toward

their degree in each academic year). Students who do not meet academic eligibility requirements are

required to withdraw from a varsity team. For students who register in two terms annually, this is a higher

course load than required for regular students who wish to be considered "full time" (9 units per term).

The available dataset for calculating statistics of athlete graduation rates are problematic as all students

who have ever been an athlete are included. Accordingly, students who cease being athletes, and students

who leave the institution at any point in their student career are included. Institutional Research &

Planning has reported that the graduation rate for students who entered in 2004-05 as student athletes was

lower than the graduation rate of all undergraduate students

(41.1%

vs. 62.8%). This is markedly lower

than those student athletes who entered the previous year when the graduation rate was

15%.

Further

analysis at a detailed level is needed to fully address this question.

As NCAA Division II members, athlete academic success is core to the program. The goal of SFU

Athletics is to have athletes graduate at higher rates than the general student population. We anticipate

improvements in athlete graduation rates as:

•

unlike

our former Athletics association, Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), a student athlete

may not transfer and

compete at other institutions without making progress towards a degree and

maintaining a 2.0 grade point average,

•

NCAA requirements for initial eligibility are more stringent than those of CIS.

in September 2012 the Department launched a comprehensive student athlete academic support

program headed by Student Success, and

in 2011/12, as required by the NCAA, student athletes have formed a Student Athlete Advisory

Council (SAAC) to provide community service, social, and academic learning opportunities for

student athletes.

QUESTION 5:1 have often heard it said that NCAA membership in particular — but perhaps

Varsity sports in general — renders SFU more attractive to international, premium fee-paying

students.

What research supports that claim? Can the value rendered to the University (e.g. the

declining numbers of international students

would experience but for Varsity sports) be

quantified?

NCAA Membership and Recruitment of International Students

As a NCAA member, Simon Fraser gets far more exposure to international audiences,particularly in the

United States, than other BC universities. This past July, when SFU was accepted as the first fully fledged

international member of the NCAA, the story was reported by many news outlets across North America.

Duringour men's soccerrun to the Final Four, theprogram was featured in the New York Times.

Furthermore, this March our men's basketball team will play a nationally televised game on CBS. In

addition to the action on the court, CBS has already plannedto shoot features around the story of SFU

competing in theNCAA in lateJanuary. Wealsoreceive a commercial slot in thebroadcast which willbe

used to promote SFU to the American audience.

In addition to media exposure, it should also be noted that in Fall 2012 SFU has more international

students on our varsity team than any of our counterparts in BritishColumbia who compete in the CIS or

NAIA, see table below. Student-athletes want to compete in the NCAA as it is the most prestigious

collegiate sports organization in North America.

Institution

# of Athletes

# of Intl Athletes

% Intl Athletes

Simon Fraser University

363

14.33%

Trinity Western University

166

13.86%

Thompson River University

259

11.20%

Univ. ofBritish Columbia

558

6.27%

Univ. ofNorthern BC

6.35%

UBC Okanagan

119

4.20%

University of Victoria

341

2.64%

At this point, we cannot build a direct link between media exposure and recruitment of international

students. More studies need to be done before we can associate SFU'sNCAA membership with the

recruitment or retention ofstudents. However, SFU's participation in NCAA has provided a new avenue

for students to excel outside ofclassroom and enhance their student experience at SFU. Indeed, our

athletes take pride in being the first Canadian school to compete in the NCAA.

Since inception in 1965, the athletic program has produced outstanding athletes and student scholars, such

as Olympic medalists, Rhodes Scholars, etc. Our continued successes rely on continued support from the

University and Campus Communities.