In recent years, MU has made a significant investment in athletics, particularly after the institution became a member of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and transitioned to a Division I university. Students are taking notice. This academic year, “The Outlook” received many inquiries from students who overwhelmingly, although not exclusively, expressed their concerns about these investments, so we decided to investigate. Is Monmouth prioritizing athletics over academics?
On July 1, 2022, Monmouth University joined the CAA. Twenty-three of Monmouth’s 24 Division I athletic teams joined the CAA in the transition, with women’s bowling the lone exception. Monmouth University’s President, Dr. Patrick F. Leahy, said at the time the move will allow Monmouth to “compete at the highest level but do so in a fiscally responsible way,” according to the Monmouth Magazine.
“We were pleased to receive an invitation to the CAA a few years ago and decided to accept it for a variety of reasons,” Leahy explained to “The Outlook.” “1) From an athletics standpoint, it allowed us to step up into a more competitive league and consolidate almost all of our teams (except bowling) into one conference. 2) From a visibility standpoint, it allows us to compete up and down the East Coast from New England to South Carolina, which are increasingly important recruiting markets for us. This year alone, membership in the CAA has enabled us to place 70 broadcasts on television in those markets, half of which are produced by our students in the Parton Broadcasting Center. 3) Joining the CAA allows us to associate with and collaborate with other prestigious academic institutions – like Northeastern, Drexel, Stony Brook, Hofstra, William & Mary, Elon, and Charleston – helping to burnish the academic reputation of Monmouth.”
The transition to the CAA resulted in Monmouth’s abrupt departure from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). By not giving a three-year notice of their exit, Monmouth University paid a $1 million penalty to the MAAC, according to the “Asbury Park Press” article, “It’s official! Monmouth athletics joins Colonial Athletic Association, as Hawks begin new era.” In addition to the penalty, a source that spoke to the “Asbury Park Press” revealed the University had paid $500,000 to join the CAA.
Federal law requires non-profit organizations that spend $750,000 or more in federal grant money in a single fiscal year to be audited, meaning a certified public accountant (CPA) or auditing firm examines the organization’s financial records. KPMG LLP in Short Hills, New Jersey, conducted the University’s audit for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2023. According to the audit reviewed by “The Outlook,” the University paid $1,605,000 to change athletic conferences.
“The total gross operating budget for the University last year was nearly $275 million. After all aid was distributed and gifts were removed, the total available operating budget was $165 million. The athletics operating budget was just 10% of the total,” Leahy explained.
He went on to discuss how most of the university’s operating budget is allocated to academics and instruction. “We are an academic institution that serves close to 5,000 students. Therefore, nearly 80% of our net operating budget – that is, after allocating $80 million in financial aid to students – is committed to program expenses, leaving just over 20% for various support functions.”
From the previous fiscal year, Leahy clarified that the athletics operating budget increased due to several factors. “Athletics operating budgets increased slightly due to increased travel costs of playing in the CAA. Athletics fundraising to offset these costs also increased…The total budget for academics increased year-over-year, even though our total student population decreased by 3%. While we have the finest students ever, we have the lowest total enrollment in 20 years. This puts pressure all over the budget,” he said.
“The Outlook” also reviewed copies of the University’s Form 990s for the fiscal years ending in both June 2022 and June 2023. According to the filings, King Rice, the Head Coach of the men’s basketball team, made $588,343 in total compensation for the fiscal year ending in June 2022. For the next fiscal year, ending in June 2023, Rice’s salary increased to a total compensation of $613,394, rendering him the second-highest paid employee at the University. In addition to Rice’s salary, which is the third highest of the CAA’s 13 men’s basketball programs, a source that did not wish to be attributed within the Athletics Department claims that Rice lives in a single-family home provided by the University.
“Some employees have housing negotiated as part of their contracts,” Leahy explained about Rice’s housing. “When this happens, there is no annual cost to the university, besides the regular maintenance costs on a facility owned by the University.”
In Feb. 2024, the men’s basketball team travelled to Boston, Massachusetts, to play Northeastern University. Another University employee who spoke with “The Outlook” without attribution shared that the University paid for the team’s bus driver to stay in the Four Seasons Hotel Boston. Analysis by “The Outlook” found the cost of the hotel’s generic room in February to be approximately $565 per night.
“I’m not sure what’s behind this question. We do not book members of the athletics travel parties in the Four Seasons Hotel or in any other luxury hotel,” Leahy responded.
“The Outlook” also requested the University’s most recent Form 1023, which includes additional financial and budgetary information, but the University denied the request despite the form being considered a public record. “The University did not retain the original paperwork filed with the IRS from the 1950s when the institution applied for exemption under section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code; because, prior to July 1987, there was no requirement to show a copy of the Form 1023 to anyone,” explained Mary Bryne, Associate Vice President and Controller.
According to Mark Drozdowski, a senior writer for BestColleges with 30 years of experience as a university administrator and faculty member, just 25 of the roughly 1,100 NCAA schools in 102 conferences made any profit from college athletics in 2019. Monmouth’s football program is in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) alongside 125 other schools. Of those 125, not a single one reported a net positive revenue, with the average FCS football program losing $14.3 million annually as of the time Drozdowski’s article “Do Colleges Make Money From Athletics” published in 2019.
Since the University does not publicly disclose its athletic spending, “The Outlook” found if Monmouth lost the median FCS revenue loss this past year, $14.3 million, that would be the equivalent of 307 students paying full 2024-2025 tuition of $46,552 to cover the net revenue loss generated by Monmouth’s football program for the year.
The Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database publishes data found in at least one of the following: self-reported by an institution, found in NCAA financial reports, and/or reported by the federal government through the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act. Since some schools, like Monmouth, do not disclose athletics spending publicly, Knight-Newhouse could only access the records of six schools that play football in the CAA (See Figure 1).
Leahy guaranteed that Monmouth’s football team does not lose any revenue compared to the other schools in the same division. “With payments to play away games against big-time opponents, as well as with annual fundraising, our football program covers its operating expenses. Even if you allocated all athletics scholarships, it would cost less than $ 1 million per year to field a nationally competitive football program,” he said.
During the Fall semester of 2024, the University suffered budget cuts that affected various aspects of campus, including the Math Learning Center, Writing Center, and student workers across campus.
“I am not in the loop in terms of athletic spending,” explained Joseph Coyle, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Science. “Their budget and fundraising are not something I, even as a Dean, would be involved in, so unfortunately, I would not be able to say anything specific about their budgeting. For example, I do not know what, or even if, there is a disparity in terms of budgets. Athletics play a significant role in the student experience, and I would trust that the upper administration, those that determine budgets, are making decisions that benefit all parts of the University.”
Coyle continued, “We have had a somewhat constrained budget over the last couple of years due to many factors—lower enrollment, for example. Doing most things costs money and, to be honest, doing science can be expensive. We have been working collaboratively across the school and university to meet any shortfalls where we can. It’s not ideal, but could be a lot worse.”
David Golland, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, pointed out that student-athletes also deserve the chance to succeed as part of the student body. “When thinking about University Athletics and its operating budget relative to Academic Affairs, it’s important to remember that—contrary to the fact that we call these University units divisions—they are not divided,” he said. “Any purported separation between the two would be highly porous. For one thing, the students who participate in Monmouth Athletics are students first. For another, participation in athletics enhances the overall college experience, the experience of being a student.
“Being a student-athlete means one’s education comes from both professor and from coach,” he continued. “It also comes from one’s fellow students, and our athletic teams are just as important for our students’ development as are academic teams like the Debate Hawks and campus organizations like the Monmouth Players, the SGA, or ‘The Outlook.’”
“Our athletics spending is lower than other schools in our conference,” Leahy said. “The fact that we are as competitive as we are, given our much smaller budgets, is a testament to our incredible coaches and support staff. For example, just last weekend our men’s lacrosse team for the first time beat Delaware, a much-better resourced, perennial national powerhouse.”
However, some voices on campus expressed their concerns with what they view as giving investment priorities to athletics over academics. Tanner Purdy, SGA President, shared that he has seen the favoring of athletics and athletes over regular academic studies. “Naturally, there are inherent differences in the experiences of student athletes when compared to traditional students. The time commitment alone is one the greatest challenges that a student athlete faces. As a result, they receive additional support not available to traditional students like priority registrations. They also receive specialized tutoring, counseling, and academic intervention through means that are not available to traditional students. Student athletes are in a unique position and deserve these services as a result. Yet, do traditional students with exceptional non-academic time commitments receive the same benefits? The answer is no.”
“It is true that all students have access to resources through CPS, Center for Student Success, and others, but for our traditional students there is not necessarily someone to ensure their general welfare at any given time,” Purdy continued. “Many students hold jobs off campus, are heavily involved in clubs, have full course loads, face significant financial burdens, and more. These are the students who may need the exact kind of support that our student athletes receive. As a senior who has been heavily involved across our community, I can confidently say that through my years hear at Monmouth, prevailing sentiment has been that the mission of athletics holds priority over the academic goals of the institution. This is reinforced by dozens of students, faculty, and administrative leaders who have privately shared with me their concerns on athletics spending. This sentiment, like any other, can evolve over time. In the last four years I have seen incredible improvements in support for traditional students, however, there is more work to be done. I am confident that university leadership understands this and will continuously make improvements so that no student feels left behind. Our mission should be to build support systems that end the perception of two standards of care at Monmouth University.”
Monmouth Athletics is a major employer of students and provides them with valuable opportunities to gain real-life experience working in various departments. Catherine Senatore, senior business administration major, has worked with athletics for four years and believes the spending on the department is justified.
“As a smaller Division I school, the events and expenses can come with a higher price tag than some might expect,” Senatore began. “A large part of the University’s marketing strategy comes from athletics. Potential students are found all across the country and world, and athletics plays a huge role. Students want to support a winning program, and athletes want to be a part of the winners. I believe sports program funding comes from their own donations and raising money, along with their school budgets. I think that sometimes students can get caught up thinking about how money is being spent on campus, but in reality, it is all done for the enhancement of their experience,” Senatore explained.
She continued, “I do not think the school prioritizes athletics over academics. I think it also depends on the interests and type of media which students, faculty, staff and members of the community are looking at. Obviously, people more interested in athletics or academics will view content related to those topics. Overall, I think it is based on perspective, but nothing is done intentionally.”
While students who work with athletics benefit from the department, students of the general body do not understand the justification for the amounts spent on its budget. Kristen Frawley, senior social work and sociology major, commented, “The amount of money the school spends on athletics concerns me because we have yet to see it pay off. Our sports teams do not perform very well, yet a majority of the teams were moved into a better conference, and are mostly insignificant to students who are not directly involved. I know there are efforts from the administration to get students to care more about athletics, but I don’t think the campus community has responded to it quite yet. I believe there are many areas of the school that would benefit greatly if just fractions of the money spent on athletics were redirected.
Coach salaries are outrageous while adjuncts and full-time educators still struggle with appropriate compensation, even after the recent faculty contract was settled.”
Owen Bros, junior history and political science major, voiced some of the same concerns. “I don’t get how they spend so much on football and basketball. The University should lower tuition by 3% every time the football or basketball team loses and maybe they will win a game.”
However, President Leahy defended the spending on athletics and argued that academic side of the house has the largest budget on campus. “Spending on academic instruction, support, and financial aid far outweighs spending on athletics—by a significant multiple.”
Overall, students at the university and other university stakeholders need more transparency and information about how spending decisions at the university are made.
“The university should take steps to improve transparency around all aspects of its budgeting process, not just athletics spending. Shared governance is a grounding philosophy in higher education and keeping transparent funding processes are at the core of this approach. As tuition payers, students have the right to open the books and see where their tuition dollars are spent. When municipal government distributes funding, taxpayers hold the right to see allocations and have their voices heard. In situations where government withholds funding amounts, taxpayers in NJ hold the right of transparency through the Open Public Records Act. Local governments, public colleges, school districts, and more are affected by these laws. Yet, students at private colleges are left in the dark and do not have these same protections. That is fundamentally wrong,” Purdy argued.
“Monmouth has the opportunity to be a national leader in funding transparency for private universities. As an institute of higher education, we exist for the public good and should be held to the same standards as a public institution. Transparent funding is as common sense as transparent grading. Individuals and communities thrive when transparency exists. Dozens of studies have shown that funding transparency in any setting provides accountability and encourages efficiency. It is time for Monmouth to open the books and show students how tuition dollars are being spent,” Purdy concluded.
