“They (UW-Madison) draw more than us on our marquee sport with their worst money-maker.”

Despite recent athletic success — most notably with the Panthers’ run to the Sweet 16 last year — the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Athletic Department is fighting its way out of a six-figure debt.

The $683,000 debt has been with the department since 2003. The debt has carried over from the 2001, 2002 and 2003 fiscal years, when it was at $1.1 million.

Success from basketball in recent years has helped the department to decrease the debt.

“We’re a powerhouse in other sports, and now basketball has started to be good,” said Assistant Athletic Director Chuck Lang.

Soccer as building block

Men’s soccer is a clear example of this powerhouse. The men’s soccer team has been in the NCAA soccer tournament and advanced to the second round the last four years.

“(The) goal is to always be in the NCAA soccer tournament and keep progressing,” Lang said.

In order to keep being successful, the department has to be able to increase salaries and keep those coaches who have been successful, Lang said. However, Louis Bennett, former UWM soccer coach, has since agreed to a five-year contract with Marquette University.

Also, increasing the amount that the department is able to give out in cash for scholarships is important.

UWM has two different types of scholarship formats: headcounts and equivalencies. Headcount scholarships are available for basketball, volleyball, tennis and football, while equivalencies are used for sports such as soccer.

A headcount scholarship counts as “ ‘X’ number of scholarships, no matter if it’s $1 or a full ride,” Lang said.

An equivalency scholarship is defined as a number of scholarships total, which can be divided up however the coach sees fit. For example, the men’s soccer program has 9.9 equivalent scholarships, meaning that they can give out as many scholarships as they want, so long as the total money divided does not exceed 9.9 full rides. These scholarships are offered in tuition waivers.

“Waivers don’t cost us cash, but we’re limited in getting an elite athlete in some of the other sports, and all we’re offering is (their) tuition,” Lang said.

The importance of football

This can be a problem as the big six conferences in the nation — Big Ten, Big Twelve, Big East, Southeastern Conference, Pacific 10 and the Atlantic Coast Conference — run like independent businesses.

These conferences need to provide for everything they do with little funding from the university. This is possible because of football, Lang said.

UW-Madison, for example, sells out 80,000 seats a game. That makes a huge impact on revenue, Lang said.

“UW (Madison)’s budget is at 60 million, 40 (million) of it is football related. Selling out men’s basketball, men’s hockey and women’s basketball (alone) averages about six or seven thousand,” Lang said. “They draw more than us on our marquee sport (basketball) with their worst money-maker.”

A difference in expenses

According to the Postsecondary Education Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act of 2004, UWM’s expenses totaled $8.65 million, whereas UW-Madison’s totaled $59.5 million.

Revenue is another story. UWM reported revenue of $8.68 million, whereas UW-Madison reported an income of $75.29 million.

The basketball program has been the cream of the crop in revenue for UWM. In 2004, it brought in $3.06 million — men’s and women’s combined. Last year’s success of the men’s team in the Sweet 16 will also help out in years to come, department officials said.

“There is a formula the NCAA uses called ‘units,’ ” said Associate Athletic Director Deanna D’Abbraccio. “Based on the success of the men’s basketball program in the NCAA tournament, the conference gets ‘X’ number of dollars per unit based on the size of the conference and how far the automatic bid goes. Last year helped.”

The automatic bid is the winner of the Horizon League Tournament, which qualifies for the NCAA Tournament.

While it is not an immediate gain for the school, but an aid a few years down the line, UWM will see benefits from the growing success.

Comparable in Horizon League

While UWM’s revenue seems minimal when compared with that of UW-Madison, it does reflect success when compared with other schools in the Horizon League.

UW-Green Bay, Butler University and the University of Illinois-Chicago bring in $5.41 million, $7.19 million and $8.77 million respectively in total athletics programs.

In order for success to continue, the goals of increasing ticket sales at games, success for all teams in NCAA tournament and championship events and national attention must all be met for UWM’s Athletic Department to decrease its current debt.

Robin Fuchs and Mike Mierendorf also contributed to this article

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