January 2019 - 26

More schools seeing budget increases
For the third consecutive year, more schools report they're
seeing an increase in their athletic budgets. It's a promising sign
that athletic administrators have moved past the worst of their
funding woes.
During the 2018-19 school year, one in four athletic directors
said they were given a budget increase of at least 2 percent.
Two years ago that number was just 13.2 percent, indicating
that a growing number of school districts are investing more in
interscholastic athletics.
Where is the money going? The majority of athletic directors
in our survey said they invested it in staff, and others are putting
more money toward facilities improvements or professional
development. One-third of schools expected to undergo some
sort of stadium project within the next three years. Weight
room and locker room projects also ranked high on the list of
priorities.
SCHOOLS REPORTING AT LEAST
A 2-PERCENT INCREASE IN ATHLETIC
BUDGETS
2011-12
11.1%
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
17.6%
21.2%
21%
23.8%
13.2%
22.1%
24.6%
WHERE ARE SCHOOLS SPENDING MORE?
HELMETS
FOOTBALL EQUIPMENT
APPAREL
INJURY TREATMENT
FIELD MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT
FIELD SURFACES
COACHING SOFTWARE
SCOREBOARDS/SIGNS
" The lower numbers in football. Three of the eight
teams in our league only fielded two football teams
instead of three, and those teams had only 25 kids
on them. "
29.5% OF SCHOOLS
28.3%
27.2%
24%
23.7%
20.2%
18.8%
17.8%
" My biggest concern is the increase in club or
privatization of our youth sports. We cannot compete
in this arena, and parents are more likely to believe
coaches that they are paying out of their own pocket as
to the future of their child's success in these sports. "
" Transgender issues, and how to let
homeschooled kids participate in the association.
And, in our state, charter schools are becoming a
big issue with the way they admit students that are
grouped in with public schools. "
" Parents and their lack of support or
understanding of education-based athletics. The
majority of them only care about their kid - not
the team. It continues to cause stress for coaches
and administrators alike, and it will continue to run
people out of these positions. "
26 JANUARY 2019
ON THE HORIZON: ATHLETIC
DIRECTORS SHARE CONCERNS
FOR THE FUTURE
" The (state) governing body has lost contact
over the participating schools. Come the end of
the season, it's the same schools that are playing
in the postseason. There needs to be a shakeup on
developing brackets. "
" Student-athletes see themselves as athletes first,
working to get that big scholarship to a Division I
school and play pro after. They don't realize how few
scholarships are athletic, with academic scholarships
being far more common. "
" Specialization in sports is the biggest concern
we have today. Too many students are hinted or flat
out told they will receive a scholarship if they play a
single sport versus multiple sports. Many times, this
comes from parent pressure, club coaches or even
our own coaches. "
" The lack of qualified officials to work games.
The population of officials who work high school
athletics is dwindling, and we're likely headed for a
major reform or we're going to have to cut levels of
participation. "
January 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2019
