Economic cloud hangs over college athletics

Three years ago, Oklahoma State's football team wasn't bowl eligible. Then oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens donated $165 million to its athletic department.

Fast forward to Oct. 19, 2008. The Cowboys were 7-0 and ranked sixth in the initial BCS standings -- nipping on the heels of No. 5 USC.

Coincidence? Maybe not.

The next day, the New York Times ran a story that Pickens' hedge fund had taken a major blow and that construction at Oklahoma State was being held up. The Cowboys lost two of their next three games.

Coincidence? Of course. But it's tempting to think about the correlation.

In reality, the nation's economic slump has (or will) hit most universities. All types of donors, whether they want their name on a building or just tickets to a game, are feeling the squeeze. The Times article goes on to discuss concerns at athletic departments in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. A couple of weeks later, they ran a story on how the situation is hurting schools in general.

The effect at USC, specifically with athletics, has yet to play out. "It's hard to gauge," said Associate Athletic Director Ron Orr. "In annual giving, compared to where we were last year (and we've only completed one quarter), we're even or a little bit ahead. I anticipate there will be a drop-off, but it's too early to tell."

Renewals are many months away and donors have already received primary benefits like tickets and parking. There is at least one indicator available -- and it looks positive. Support group members have to be current on their dues in order to get bowl tickets. So far, those seem to be on schedule. It can't hurt that USC is barreling toward another BCS bid.

Orr said that the athletic department's most recent capital campaign, for the Galen Center, was fully covered by pledges and that those payments were also coming in on schedule. No timeline has been announced on any other major project. Officials have been discussing an expansion of Heritage Hall for a while, but it's unclear how or if that could be affected by the economic downturn.

"We're not the gas company, we're the entertainment dollars," Orr summed up. "I'm sure when people have to make some decisions, it's going to be tight. Where we fall in that, who knows? I think that people love USC football and they're going to try and keep their tickets where they are and keep their donations going. We'll work with them. Since we're not the gas company, we're not going to turn out the lights! We'll work with the people that have been here a long time and can make a payment."

-- Adam Rose