By Jim Ecker
March 10, 2009

University of Northern Iowa president Ben Allen is an economist, so let’s study the school’s decision to drop the baseball program and see if it adds up.

Here’s a hint: It doesn’t.

Troy Dannen, UNI’s director of athletics, says the baseball program lost $398,405 during Fiscal Year 2009, a piece of red ink that cannot be tolerated in a slumping economy, which is why 37 players and four coachers could be looking for a new team next year if the program cannot be saved. But is that necessary?

Let’s do a simple piece of math: There are 37 players on the team, but Coach Rick Heller has the equivalent of only eight in-state scholarships to spread among all those players. He can divide the eight scholarships among a variety of players, but the bottom line is the same: He’s got enough money for only eight scholarships.

That means there are 29 players (37 minus 8 = 29) who are paying their own way to attend school. It costs roughly $14,000 per year for tuition, room and board for in-state students, which means those 29 players are paying a total of $406,000 to attend school (29 x $14,000 = $406,000).

Let’s also assume that all 29 of those players leave the University of Northern Iowa and go to school somewhere else next year, somewhere where they’ve got a varsity baseball team. That means they’ll be pulling $406,000 out of the university, all in an attempt to save $398,405 in red ink. Does that make sense?

Northern Iowa is willing to lose $406,000 in student fees, just so the baseball program doesn’t lose $398,405? If you’re confused, join the club.

Actually, those 29 players are paying more than $406,000 to attend school. That’s because 13 of the players on the current roster are out-of-state students, which means their annual fees are $22,000 instead of $14,000. That’s an extra $8,000 per year for 13 players, which comes to another $104,000. So if you add the $104,000 to the $406,000, you come up with a grand total of $510,000 in player fees that could be chased away.

Your head is probably spinning by now, so let’s put the numbers aside for a minute. Dannen says you cannot do the math in that manner, because all of the money that goes into the general fund from student fees does not come back to the athletic department. That’s true, of course, but isn’t it still the same university? If $510,000 is subtracted from the general fund, doesn’t that more than compensate for the $398,405 in red ink?

Do the math.

In the meantime, the campaign to save the UNI baseball program had raised $223,900 as of Tuesday afternoon. The Panthers need to raise $1.2 million by April 5 to save the program for three years, and the clock is ticking. You can make a pledge at www.SupportUNIBaseball.Com.

Dig deep.