IU Athletics Director Fred Glass didn’t mince words about the importance of the school’s football program Wednesday.
It’s a priority.
“Whether you like it or not, football disproportionately represents the University, not only athletically but also comprehensively,” Glass said.
In recent years, the team hasn’t performed at the level Glass would have liked it to. Even with the postseason appearance last year — IU’s first since 2007 — IU Coach Kevin Wilson hasn’t finished a season with a winning record.
However, the final score isn’t the only thing Glass looks at.
The possible revenue football games could bring in would be beneficial to the athletic department as a whole.
“Indiana University athletics is the second most underfunded athletic department in the conference,” Glass said. “If you take our budget, and divide it by the number of sports we sponsor, you come up with a number that is smallest for our conference but for Rutgers.”
One reason IU has this problem is the football program’s small stadium and inability to fill it.
Glass estimated IU’s budget at about $85 million and said the $10 million the Hoosiers would make from filling Memorial Stadium’s 52,929 person capacity at each of their seven home games would do a lot to help the bottom line.
At the moment, Glass said Big Ten East Division competitors Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State all collect more stadium-specific revenue during one home game than IU does over its entire home schedule.
It’s this uphill battle that makes the stakes so high.
A budding football program, in Glass’ eyes, brings with it more student participation. Those students, he said, are probably more likely to come back as alumni and contribute to efforts by the school to better itself in various ways.
How does he intend to make that happen? Continuity and investment.
Glass signed Wilson to a six-year extension worth a total of $15.3 million and spent hundreds of thousands more to strengthen Wilson’s staff. Memorial Stadium received a $700,000 turf upgrade and IU Athletics invested another $40,000 in new branding.
That investment has carried over into the athletic department as a whole.
“Since I got here in 2009, we have opened $130 million worth of new facilities,” Glass said. “I don’t think facilities are the be-all end-all. I think, frankly, coaches are the be-all end-all, but facilities are very, very important. I think we have too much of a gap between where we were and where our competitors were.”
He doesn’t think IU needs to set the standard with facilities, but he doesn’t want prospective student-athletes making decisions based solely on facilities.
As a part of For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign, Glass said IU Athletics has another $130 million in investments planned. This includes the renovations for Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the Memorial Stadium South End Zone Excellence Academy and an indoor arena for volleyball and wrestling.
He hopes to also fix up IU’s golf course and update Bill Armstrong Stadium for the men’s and women’s soccer programs. These two are still in need of major donors. Glass is confident the golf course will get one, and he’s hopeful for soccer.
The target date for completion of all the projects is 2020, and Glass is adamant the money is not taking away from other University endeavors.
“That’s not money that’s coming from the University,” Glass said. “That’s not money that’s coming from the general assembly. That’s not money that’s coming from student fees. That’s all money that we have raised through philanthropy or earned through our media deal or our marketing deals, or so forth.”
Glass also discussed various promotion and game day information pertinent to the IU football program. In addition to IU’s “Raise the Flag” campaign, Memorial Stadium tours will be available from 7 to 9 p.m. on Fridays before home games for the first time.
While new transportation assistance will be available, Glass recommended all IU fans get to the games early because State Road 37 is still under construction and could cause significant delays.
