As budget cuts by the Arizona Board of Regents continue to affect NAU, the athletics program has been far from immune. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer recently signed a bill that cuts $141.5 million from the budgets of the Arizona university system; $20.5 million will be cut from NAU, which will directly affect athletics.

The NAU athletics department began implementing cuts Jan. 20 by closing the High Altitude Training Center, and they are expecting to make more cuts to fit the budget for the remainder of the 2009 fiscal year.

Collage by LJ photo staff

“We have made reductions,” said NAU Athletic Director Jim Fallis. “We have not filled positions of people that have left. We’ve gone to various areas, and we’ve reduced operation dollars.” 

According to Fallis, the various cuts have left two full-time positions vacant in the athletics program. Other cuts include not paying for a pep band at men’s and women’s basketball games and making coaches limit travel expenses and recruiting costs.

Fallis and his staff are continuing to make the budget work where they can as they address areas like the frequency of uniform replacements and other equipment costs.

The athletics department will have to remain cautious about what the cuts will affect because of its obligation to the health and safety of student athletes.

“We have to send (in) every football helmet and get them certified every year,” Fallis said. “There is no way we cannot do that. There is no way we won’t do that. That’s a health and safety matter. We are going to continue to do that. The last thing we want to have an impact on is the health and safety of the student athletes.”

Budget cuts have generated speculations about whether the funding of athletics is essential to the survival of the university, and if the millions of dollars spent on athletic programs is in the best interest of the school while financial woes continue to loom over all areas of the university. 

Students and faculty are beginning to question what the priorities of the university should be in such a monetary predicament. Many views have begun to surface on the situation, such as one from NAU Professor of Humanities Dr. Marcus Ford.

“My view, simply put, is that the $10 million a year that NAU currently spends on intercollegiate athletics could better be spent on student health, the library or in reducing tuition,” Ford said. “This is not to say that I do not think sports are important.” 

Ford said the current economic state creates unique circumstances.

“It is only that, in these financial times, I think this particular athletic program is too expensive,” Ford said. “President Haeger’s decision to cut the High Altitude Training Center … (was), in the end, (a) financial decision. (Haeger is) not anti-sports, nor am I. The issue for me is basically what is the best use of our limited funds.”

Ford’s view is one of many making members of the NAU community stop and think about the importance of athletics on campus — to the student athletes, as well as the general student body and faculty.

“The question can be asked, ‘What is the environment and what is the whole opportunity to have a collegiate experience as a general student if there is not an athletic program?” Fallis said. “I think different people have different opinions and concepts of what’s essential to the core mission of a university…it’s open to interpretation.” 

On  Thursday, Feb. 12, the Arizona Board of Regents will go back to work finalizing the university system’s budget for the 2010 fiscal year, legislation that will inevitably shape the future of NAU and its athletic programs. 

The NAU athletics program awaits these final cuts as they, along with the rest of the university, brace to make decisions that will affect them financially in the years to come.

“What we’ll need to do now is to make sure that we minimize the negative impact of our mission (to the student body and the student athletes) of providing a positive (collegiate) experience,” Fallis said.