UW-Oshkosh Ranks Sixth In Athletics Efficiency Study
UW-Oshkosh is the sixth-most efficient public school in NCAA Division III athletics, according to a recent study by UW-Whitewater economics professor Russ Kashian and student Jeff Pagel.
The UW-Whitewater faculty-student team researched how
effectively universities used their resources to score points in
the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup competition.
The Directors’ Cup is an award given annually by the
National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the
university with the most success in collegiate athletics. Points
are based on the order of finish in various NCAA sponsored
championships.
“There is a select group of schools that is markedly more
efficient than the rest,” Kashian said. “If an athletic
department’s goal is to accumulate Directors’ Cup
points and win championships, further examination of this data can
provide a roadmap on how to improve operations – whether it
be adding appropriate sports or altering spending
patterns.”
UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells said the research is very encouraging, a validation of UW-Oshkosh’s commitment to athletic and academic success for students through the efficient design, delivery and execution of the campus’s array of athletic programs.
“It is very fulfilling to learn of research that validates
a mission and ethic we hold very dear at UW-Oshkosh – that we
be just as efficient in how we develop and carry out our athletic
programs as we are in our academic programs,” Wells said.
“We are committed to stewardship of quality, responsible,
successful and financially sustainable experiences for students on
the field, court or course just as we are in the classroom and
community.”
Using data from 2007-12, the study reviewed recruiting expenses
per student, operating expenses for athletic programs, the number
of men’s and women’s participants, size of school and
number of coaches per sport. The analysis used an efficiency score
rating from 0 to 1.00.
The top public school in the rankings was The College of New
Jersey with a score of .760. The University of Texas at Tyler
ranked second at .682, followed by Salisbury University (Md.) at
.617, Christopher Newport University (Va.) at .605, UW-Whitewater
at .588 and UW-Oshkosh at .582.
Rounding out the top 10 public schools were No. 7 UW-Stevens Point
at .577, No. 8 State University of New York-Cortland at .532, No. 9
UW-Eau Claire at .516 and No. 10 Eastern Connecticut State
University at .491.
Calvin College (Mich.) ranked first among the private schools with
a score of .865. Amherst College (Mass.) ranked second at .839,
Emory University (Ga.) third at .836, Messiah College (Pa.) fourth
at .778 and Washington University (Mo.) fifth at .759.
The study revealed several trends. Overall, private schools had
the highest efficiency scores, as did larger public
universities.
“It’s likely that there are structural characteristics
in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference that lead
those schools to be extremely efficient,” Kashian said.
“We don’t know exactly what those are – they
could be policy-related, but the result is very
noticeable.”
Since the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup competition began
in 1996, UW-Oshkosh has totaled 15 top-25 finishes. The Titans
placed third in 1996, fifth in 1997 and seventh in 2001. UW-Oshkosh
finished 21st in the standings a year ago.
UW-Oshkosh is the owner of 30 NCAA Division III titles, including
nine in women’s outdoor track & field, eight in
women’s indoor track & field, four in both men’s
and women’s cross country and two in baseball.