Office of the Chancellor a SSL Ni] eto 575-696-2035, Be 575-646-6398 | Prsidert@nma.eee February 27, 2018 NMSU Board of Regents MSC RCS Dear Members: Recently, the Board of Regents formed an Athletic Review Committee and charged it with providing recommendations for sustaining the “Moment of Success” in Aggie Athletics. Itis not clear how long the Athletic Review Committee studied the issue, who was interviewed by the committee, or whether the committee considered the impact of its recommendations on units outside of Athletics. Nevertheless, the committee reached the conclusion thatthe success of the Football Program and the Men's Basketball Program merited greater investment by the university, and that this, investment would bonoft the university by inoreasng ite brad recognition, Further, the Committee argued that it was imperative o act within the next 90 days in order to maintain the upward trajectory ‘of both programs and the NMSU brand. ‘The Athletic Review Committee identified three areas of investment: ‘+ Increase the transfer of dollars from the Instruction and General (1&G) Budget to Athletics from $4.37 to $5.47 million, an inerease of $1.1 mi ‘© Extend or eliminate the athletic debt repayment schedule ‘© Increase annual giving from large donors In addition, the Athletic Review Committee advocated for two major administrative policy changes ‘+ Allow Athletics tobe responsible for concessions at athletic events ‘© Allow Athletics tobe in charge of all operations and facilities for each athletic event Few people enjoy athlties more than we do, and we have both been strong supporters of athletic programs on this campus, Therefore, we are supportive of constructive steps to help Athletic, such as extending the athletic debt repayment schedule, increasing annual giving from large donors, allowing Altletcs to be responsible for concessions at athletic evens, and allowing Atleties to be in charge of operations and facilities for athletic events. However, we are strongly apposed to increasing the transfer of dollars from the I&G budget to Athletics. ‘After long and hard discussions with the legislature emphasizing the negative impacts of past bdget ‘cuts on NMSU’s educational mission and the ability of New Mexico's institutions of higher education to provide high quality instruction to students, the legislature added 2% new dollars to higherMSU Board of Regents February 27,2018 Page? education in fiscal year 2019. A transfer of $1.1 million to Athletics would mean that more than half of the new dollars allocated to NMSU would go to Athetis rather than to academic programs. There is ‘no doubt that such a transfer would infurate the legislature, seriously harm the erediblity of NMSU, and lead toa loss of tust that would take years to regain. ‘We cannot emphasize enough how negatively the transfer would be perceived by the university community, which has had to endure years of budget cuts, including an $8 million cut this year alone that led to the freezing of 59 faculty positions and 72 staff positions. A further reduction of $1.1 milion would translate into a loss of another 11 faculty positions, o 20 staff positions Scarce enrollment management dollars to cover classes would become even more searce and it would ‘be increasingly difficult to offer classes essential for graduation, to the detriment of our core educational mission. ‘The transfer would also be viewed as imresponsible by the Higher Leaming Commission and bond rating agencies as it would move our composite financial index in a negative direction. Moreover, its hard to argue that our athletic programs are under-funded compared to the teams with which we ‘compete. Within the Western Athletic and Sun Belt Conferences, our athletic expenditures rank in the top quartile. In sum, our responsibility tothe well-being ofthis university compels us to advise agninst increasing the transfer of dollars from the 1G budget to the Athletic Department. tis impradent to believe that moderate succes in athletic arenas will ead oan influx of stodents. The fact i that we have seen no spike in applications for admission associated wih the earned media surrunding or Arizona Bowl ‘Vietory and our successful basketball team. Inthe end, the mission of NMSU is education, researc, and serves, We lose sight of this mission at our peri Sincerely, Daw Hound Carrey Caruthers, PD. Danie J. Howard, PhD. Chancellor Executive Vice President and Provost