These are the comments I made prior to my decision to vote AGAINST the proposed $49 million Lasch Building renovations.
My fellow Trustees, I stand opposed to this resolution at this time. My reasons are twofold. The first financial while the second is more philosophical.
As Pennsylvania's only land grant university, Penn State has a broad mission of teaching, research, and public service. Our duty as university fiduciaries is, among other responsibilities, to ensure the affordable attainment of a PSU education.
No question but that athletics serves as the window through which our great University is seen by many. No doubt football occupies the largest pane. It is the engine that allows all 31 varsity sports to run.
However, as all of you know, we have a myriad of headwinds and uncertainties facing us over the next year.
First, and primarily, we have the challenge of the pandemic. Last year we lost ~$38 million in football ticket revenues not to mention the loss of gameday revenues. We filled some of that gap by allowing season ticket holders to roll their 2020 ticket purchases into 2021. Consequently, we have a large issue facing us this fall. How do we replace those revenues this year?
In addition, we seemingly lost 10% of our season ticketholder base by virtue of the way we handled the refund of 2020 season ticket purchases.
Finally, what happens if we can’t play football this fall in front of a a capacity crowd in Beaver Stadium?
Second, we don’t yet know the impact of recent image and likeness legislation on colleges and universities. What if the result of this is a drag on athletics revenues?
Finally, we seem to be deviating from our policy of philanthropic commitments in writing in hand before commencing. Instead, we intend to utilize $48.3 million of borrowings from a February 4, 2020 taxable bond offering. Moreover, does this approach not create a gender equity problem for us given our direction to the Women’s Field Hockey team?
Women’s Field Hockey would like to spend $9 million on a new venue. To date, they have received $7 million in committed gifts yet they have been told they cannot break ground without the full $9 million in hand.
Additionally, the Student Food Pantry has been told that they must raise the $250,000 required for expansion that is so desperately needed. In a time when we have homeless students living in the HUB and showering in Rec Hall, what message are we sending with this decision?
With respect to my philosophical concerns, I have heard some of you as well as University leadership refer to an arms race as it pertains to football. Let me suggest that such a race is unwinnable and frankly, in my opinion, a fools errand.
Let me remind all of you that Penn State, between 2014-2018, ranked 7th in football related expenditures, averaging almost $41 million. In 2018, the spend in football was $48 million.
Alabama was #1 at almost $60.5 million, Florida State followed at almost $50 million. Ohio State was 4th at almost $43 million while Michigan was 5th at ~$41 million. Clemson followed at just under $40 million.
Interesting to note that Notre Dame (~$39.5 million), Georgia (~$39 million) and Oklahoma (~$37 million) all spent less on football than us yet all have reached the final four.
Parenthetically, Alabama is the 143rd ranked school in the most recent US News and World Report whereas Clemson ranks 73rd.
A very wise man many of us knew liked to quote a line from the poet Robert Browning.
“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”
In my opinion, we would be wise to delay this project.
