Intramurals: Follow the money
GCSU students participating in intramurals this year will find a new twist in the midst of organizing teams, practice and games. Every team will be required to pay a $30 fee to participate. This charge comes in an effort to bridge the gap between the ever-increasing number of teams and the intramural budget.
Last year, the budget was $45,000. This didn’t stop the GCSU intramural program from spending almost $70,000. Funds were used for new equipment, sending teams to state tournaments and paying officials, scorekeepers and supervisors.
Bert Rosenberger is the coordinator of intramural and recreational sports at GCSU. He is working with the budget to see what the school can and cannot afford.
“Our budget is going up a little bit each year and our participation is going up more than the budget is,” Rosenberger said. “And basically, the way our budget works, if we have 50 teams we get the same amount as if we have 100 teams. As long as our numbers continue to grow, and our budget doesn’t grow at the same rate, there’s going to be a deficit there.”
This year, the budget has been increased to $60,000. The remaining deficit of $10,000 is expected to be collected through revenues and entry fees to available sports throughout the year. At Rosenberger’s request, the Student Government Association and the Administration for Student Affairs approved a policy requiring payment for participation in intramurals. Teams can anticipate incurring a cost of about $3 a person.
“Last year, we went over our budget and the way the current university system works, it was OK to pull a little bit of money from here or there,” Rosenberger said. “But this year the whole university system across the state of Georgia, not just Georgia College has a 6 percent budget cut.”
Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Bruce Harshbarger, shed light on where last year’s extra financial aid to the intramural department originated.
“There’s a reserve fund that comes from two sources really; money that’s left over at the end of this year on July 1, any untapped student activities fees will roll under reserves,” he said. “Also, the student activities budget committee tries to leave usually about $60,000 or $70,000 unallocated as a reserve. They do that because they’re budgeting based on what their guess is for fall enrollment and they could guess low.”
Harshbarger also mentioned that going over budget in intramurals was acceptable because of the boom in student participation.
However, warnings to the intramural department about another year in the red have already filtered through the ranks. Sending teams to state tournaments, championship T-shirts and officials would be the first amenities to be lost. Rosenberger has already had part of his travel expenses cut in an effort to save money.
Josh Smith, a junior history major and three-year intramural participant, is concerned about the recent changes.
“I thought we had recreational dues or something that we paid through tuition so we could just pay through that,” he said. “I’m not too happy about it, but I’m still going to play and everything.”
GCSU does not charge as much for intramural participation as the University of Georgia, which requires students to pay $85 per team. UGA’s higher charge also comes with a guarantee of only three games while GCSU intramural teams are scheduled for five games plus playoffs.
Rosenberger put the money issue into perspective while considering his tighter budget.
“This year, it’s pretty much if we go over budget, then all of a sudden for softball season you play two games because there’s just no money there.”
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Sep 12 2008. Filed under Sports.
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