Glass discusses athlete academics, increased department spending

Athletic Director Fred Glass reported to the Board of Trustees Friday that student athlete academics have improved and athletics spending has increased.

Average student athlete GPA has increased to 3.15, Glass said, and 57 percent of student athletes have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Glass said the athletic department, in an effort to reduce costs, freed $1 million annually by eliminating six of eight senior staff positions and used the money to hire additional athletic trainers.

The department also received an additional $1 million annually by renegotiating multimedia rights.

Athletic spending has increased by $16 million in the last five years, he said, but IU still spends less money on athletics than most other Big Ten schools.

He said IU’s average expenditure per sport is about $3 million.

More than 90 percent of financial aid and grants go to out-of-state student athletes, Glass said. Two-thirds of student athletes are out-of-state students.

Glass said though IU aggressively recruits Indiana students, an entire water polo team cannot consist of in-state students.

“Sometimes we have to fish in other waters,” he said.

IU was one of 23 of 228 NCAA Division I schools to finish the year “in the black” financially.

“We’re the University’s biggest customer,” Glass said.

— Hannah Alani