C-VILLE contacted the UVA athletic department for this story and got a response from Executive Associate Athletics Director Jon Oliver, but too late to incorporate into the story. Here are Oliver’s answers to our questions about the University’s spending on athletic recruiting, which at $1.2 million has gone up 80 percent in the last five years.
C-VILLE: I noticed that the rise in recruiting spending correlates with Craig Littlepage taking over as athletic director. Is the spending increase something he actively pushed, or did it emerge more from a number of coaches pushing to increase recruiting funding?
Jon Oliver: It is primarily attributable to two things: 1) The decision to fully fund athletics scholarships, which in turn required more recruiting. 2) One of the goals established by Craig Littlepage when he became athletics director was, based on how coaches rate their top prospects, to attract our top prospective student athletes to the University of Virginia annually. With that goal, we didn’t hold any of our coaches to just in-state recruiting.
What is the increase in spending paying for?
More recruiting trips, an escalation in travel costs and, in some cases, more recruiting visits.
What kind of access to flights do UVA coaches have for recruiting?
The majority of flights are commercial. There are a limited number of charter flights primarily by football and men’s and women’s basketball.
Since increasing spending, UVA’s place in the Director’s Cup has also gone up, about 10 spots since 2001-2002. Do you see the Director’s Cup standings as a measure of the success of that spending?
Yes, that’s directly related, but not the only thing. Our goal is to have a comprehensive athletics program that’s successful across the board. The increased spending on recruiting is one of several factors contributing to our success. Among those factors are an outstanding coaching staff, the work we’ve done on our athletics facilities and a University that is recognized for its academic excellence.
Have you experienced any push back from University administration or the Board of Visitors about recruiting spending?
No, but as we seek to be successful as a department we are cognizant of our charge to be fiscally responsible and are striving on a continuing basis to meet that responsibility as we work toward our department goals.
Is someone like Somdev Devvarman a good example of what can come from spending more on air travel, since, as I understand it, Coach Brian Boland flew to India to meet him before he was offered a scholarship?
It could be a factor, but I think recruiting a student athlete like Somdev Devvarman is attributable to a coach who is working to build a national championship program. We have agreed in our goals to support financially what our coaches and teams are trying to do in order to win championships and be successful in all areas. That includes providing coaches with the financial support so as not to restrict them in their attempt to recruit the best student athletes.
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