Jun 24, 2008
Over the last few weeks several articles and blogs have been published across North Carolina discussing the N.C. High School Athletic Association's large endowment fund, as well as the salary for the Association's top man.
Let me give you some figures:
I refuse to sit here and talk about how the NCHSAA should give money back to the schools. I also refuse to sit and type a blog about how Charlie Adams is over paid.
Where to start...
Read the statistics above. The NCHSAA gives about one-third of the annual endowment earnings back to the schools. Money is paid to the endowment fund in a variety of ways. 25-percent of the gross revenue at a schools' endowment games (in all sports) goes to the endowment fund. The endowment games give all teams, in all sports, at all member schools the opportunity to play one more game.
The endowment fund only takes 25-percent of the gross revenue from those schools, meaning 75-percent goes to the school itself. That gives the schools an additional opportunity to make money to support their athletic departments while putting some money away as a safe guard in the future.
In short, the endowment games give the schools money back every single year - especially in football. There are always some very big games on "Endowment Friday," such as the Millbrook-Garner game this year.
The fund is also supported by the playoffs. Playoff tickets increase in price, and that is because $1 of each playoff ticket goes to the endowment fund. With the increase in ticket price, it isn't taking away any money from the schools. The Association also takes no more than 25-percent of the gross proceeds from playoff games.
The finals, which are played at colleges and universities in most cases, gives the NCHSAA 60-percent of the net proceeds.
Should the NCHSAA be giving member schools more money? I think we have to trust the NCHSAA to make that decision.
The Association has a Board of Directors, but they also have other positions, such as the President, that are filled each year by school personnel. These people have an influence in the monies, and since they are at the local level, in the schools, I think they know better than anyone.
I don't think the Association should be emptying their fund year-in and year-out to give money back to the schools. The schools have to have some responsibility to raise money, get sponsors, and promote their athletic departments. The NCHSAA is doing what a responsible Association should do - plan for the future, ensure the stability of the program, and look out for the best interest of its members.
The endowment fund is nearly $12 million deep. When Adams took over as the NCHSAA executive director, there was about $600,000 in the Association's name. According to the News & Observer article, that isn't even enough to run the Association for a year.
That endowment fund is being used, and will continue to be used, but it must be used conservatively. The NCHSAA is working on a program to put Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in every member school that doesn't have one. Those are life saving devices that are becoming more common in public places. The Association must pay for the devices themselves, the protective cases, the wall mounts, training and certification, and batteries.
Don't forget, the Association gives the schools one-third of the annual earnings each year. A lot of that goes to covering catastrophic insurance for the student-athletes. I'd say that's pretty important.
Right now, the country and state is in the midst of some tough economic times - especially when it comes to the price at the pump. With the North Carolina General Assembly not increasing the amount of money going to diesel for school buses, the NCHSAA may be forced to give more money back to the schools this year. With the increase of gasoline prices, the gate money schools receive may go down, and sponsors may not be as generous.
Adams admitted in the News & Observer article that this may be the case this year, and that the Association may have to give more money back to the schools. That is the purpose of the endowment fund, though, and now that we're in some tough economic times, give the Association a chance to act.
Is Adams' salary too much?
I hear this several times a year, and each time I just shake my head.
Here in Wake County, athletic directors that have served for 20 or more years (the same period as Adams) are considered level eight employees when it comes to extra duties. These athletic directors get an additional $4,845 a year to manage one school
Adams is managing the organization that oversees 376 member schools. Multiply the level eight athletic director salary by the number of schools in the NCHSAA and you get $1,821,720.
I'm not suggesting that Adams should get paid almost $2 million, just stating that I believe his pay is reasonable.
Adams is the highest paid executive director in the country, but the NCHSAA is also the richest association in the country.
Adams is responsible for some great things - not just the great endowment fund - but also getting championship games in college facilities. The Association is one of the most stable in the country, it is growing - both population wise and financially - and schools are confident that there will be another year of high school athletics when the school year wraps up each year.
The NCHSAA comes under scrutiny frequently when it comes to how things are run, especially on the finance side of things. But the fact is, the NCHSAA is extremely stable, it runs smoothly, and they have the future in mind.
Complain that they aren't giving enough money to the schools, but when they give it back and there isn't any left in a few years, and schools can't afford gas because revenue is down, you'll be complaining then too.
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