Elianna Novitch
The head of the University of Iowa Athletics Department, Gary Barta, announced on Thursday that the department will continue to contribute funds to the university in an ongoing effort to support university initiatives.
Barta said athletics has long contributed to the university’s bottom line and highlighted that as state funding has decreased over the years, it has become more apparent that one of the ways the department can assist the school is by helping ease its financial burden. The Athletics Department is self-sustaining — it does not rely on money from the UI general fund. Instead, it relies entirely on self-generated revenue.
“Over the past 15 months, we’ve had the good fortune to be able to contribute to the university,” Barta said in an announcement. “… In addition to being efficient with what we’ve had in the past, we’re fortunate to have seen an increase in revenue, particularly from television broadcasts, in recent years. This increase has put us in a position to explore even more ways to support the greater university mission.”
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Barta said that last year, more than $23 million was transferred from the Athletics Department to central campus in the form of tuition, room and board, medical support, parking, and more. Additionally, over the past two years, the department has provided $4 million on top of that in direct support to the university — specifically, $2 million in fiscal 2017 and $2 million in fiscal 2018.
In the announcement, Barta said the department plans to continue to identify university initiatives to support. Some recent initiatives that have been identified, he said, include student wellness, diversity and inclusion, and overall student success.
“Making these financial contributions to the university is a tangible way of demonstrating Hawkeye pride and our commitment to the importance of public higher education,” Barta said.
