Lake Region Sports Budget: Is there Enough Money and is it Split Equally?
Do Lake Region sports teams get enough money to actually accomplish everything they want to and buy all of the equipment they need? Is the money equally split between the teams? The perception is that they don’t and the money is not, but is this actually the case?
As a student of Lake Region that participates in sports in her free time, I’ve often heard conversations about budgets taking place. Whether the conversation is about teams wanting (or sometimes needing) new uniforms, new equipment, or a new track, there always seems to be a conversation about money happening during the season. I’ve heard countless remarks over the years of athletes or coaches saying that some teams seem to get more money when compared to another team, and I’ve even heard people say that the boys teams for certain sports get more money than the girls team. Upon looking into the matter, this is what I found out.
Most of the perceptions about money I have personally heard during my time of being an athlete are those of the people that actually play on the teams. I have heard countless times (and even said myself a few times), that it seems as if the boys teams get more money than the girls do. The boys never seem to have to fundraisers a student of Lake Region that participates in sports in her free time, I’ve often heard conversations about budgets taking place. Whether the conversation is about teams wanting (or sometimes needing) new uniforms, new equipment, or a new track, there always seems to be a conversation about money happening during the season. I’ve heard countless remarks over the years of athletes or coaches saying that some teams seem to get more money when compared to another team, and I’ve even heard people say that the boys teams for certain sports get more money than the girls team. Upon looking into the matter, this is what I found out.
According to Chris Wentworth, one of our schools athletic directors, Lake Region’s annual operating budget for Co-Curricular Athletics granted by the board for usage is $81,256.00, which then gets broken down into different categories for certain uses. The money for each team is split into a list of priorities, mainly being kids facilities, equipment, staff, officials, entry fees and transportation. Every year, the school gives a certain amount of money to each team so they can operate for the course of their season. Is the amount of money given equal? No, but Wentworth states that he feels as if the budget is split “fairly” between the teams. According to Liz Montgomery, who is the coach for our schools cross country team, coaches are “encouraged every season to give the ADs a wishlist of items we want or need.” Based on my understanding, Wentworth and James Ingalls, our second athletic director, then make the decision on how to split the money between the teams depending on what the teams need. Some teams need more money in their budget than others; for instance, baseball needs at least three to five new balls per game and basketball only needs one ball per season. There have been years when certain teams have to spend more money than they were originally given because of equipment breaking mid season or bringing equipment up to the current safety standards that they must meet before they can be used by athletes. Unlike what I had originally thought, uniforms are not a part of the team’s budget and instead, uniforms are their own separate category. Each team gets a new uniform on a rotating basis every 5 years and do not take out of the money given to the teams individually, but it does take out of the total sports budget all around.
