Quick Takes: Spending on Big-Time Athletics Hits $3.6 Billion, Bonuses End at Troubled Medical University, College Sports Faulted for Lack of Diversity in Hiring, Wilma Forces Postponements and Closings

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Quick Takes: Spending on Big-Time Athletics Hits $3.6 Billion, Bonuses End at Troubled Medical University, College Sports Faulted for Lack of Diversity in Hiring, Wilma Forces Postponements and Closings

October 20, 2005 - 4:00am

By

Scott Jaschik

A USA Today investigation of records on the finances of big-time college athletics found that expenses reached $3.6 billion in 2003-4. The investigation also found numerous errors in the reports that colleges file on their expenses, raising the possibility that actual spending may be even higher.

The board of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey voted Tuesday to suspend a bonus program that would have given $3.2 million to executives, The Newark Star-Ledger reported. The university is facing numerous government investigations into its finances.

College athletic programs employ white men in most key professional positions and need to do more to diversify, according to a report from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, at the University of Central Florida.

With Hurricane Wilma potentially headed to Florida this weekend, some colleges are making adjustments. Eckerd College called off classes after 2:50 p.m. today and all day on Friday. The University of Tampa is closing as of 12:30 p.m. today. The University of Miami has postponed all weekend athletic events, including a football game in which it was to have played host Saturday to the Georgia Institute of Technology. The University of South Florida, which was to have been host Saturday to West Virginia University, has postponed that match. One institution -- the University of Central Florida -- is moving up a football game from Saturday to Friday, hoping to avoid the bad weather. Central Florida's opponent has plenty of knowledge about the need for flexibility in the face of a hurricane. Central Florida is playing Tulane University.

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