This weekend, legions of UT fans are flocking to Gainesville to (hopefully) see UT end one of the worst losing streaks in modern college football.
UT has inexplicably lost to the Gators for the past 10 years, with last year’s heartbreaking loss inside Neyland Stadium being especially painful.
But a win Saturday will not only prove that UT is a contender for the SEC East title, but will provide a jolt of energy for the university.
Having a winning football team does more than just get us noticed on the SEC Network. It projects our university’s image and brand across the country, encouraging young athletes and others to come see what all the fuss is about.
After Nick Saban arrived at the University of Alabama and won the school three national championships in just five years, the school saw a jump in popularity from new students, in particular those from out-of-state.
In 2007, less than a third of Alabama undergraduates were from out-of-state, but by 2012, that number had risen to 52 percent of the freshman class’ 6,397 students.
Aside from changing the demographics of its student body, the football culture brought in millions in new revenue for Alabama and not just from ticket sales.
As I wrote last week, the state of Tennessee is unwilling to fully support UT and other four-year universities. While UT has reacted by raising tuition to make up for lost revenue, this plan only works as long as we are still affordable.
According to a working draft of UT’s assessment of its Top 25 plan, the university plans to find new sources of revenue outside of state dollars and more tuition increases.
Addressing the lack of state funding, the report encourages UT to consider “new enrollment strategies,” as a way to bring in more revenue.
When Alabama had their influx of out-of-state students, it also saw an increase in out-of-state tuition dollars. Those students were paying full price for their education, creating an increase in revenue to the tune of $50 million.
At UT, we have a particularly large discrepancy between in-state and out-of-state tuition, with out-of-state students paying $30,856 per year, more than double what their in-state peers pay.
While there’s no reason out-of-state tuition should be so high, getting more students to come here is a good idea. In fall 2014, 85.5 percent of freshman students were in-state, with just 13 percent of new undergraduates coming from outside Tennessee.
UT is homogenous not only in our racial demographics, but our homes. Many of us come from the Middle and East Tennessee region, and a UT that not only provides much-needed money but also brings in new perspectives is a net gain.
After Saban took the helm, Alabama also saw an incredible success in campaigning for donations, about $600 million, most likely because of the immense feelings of pride and joy that winning back-to-back national championships creates. To put that into perspective, UT Knoxville, had a $540 million budget for fiscal year 2014, not including separate units like athletics and housing.
While it’s understandably difficult to justify and appreciate an athletic department that turned a $13 million profit last year while many students are in debt, in many cases a winning college football team does have positive effects for the rest of campus.
So Saturday as we watch the Vols take on the Gators, remember that there’s a game of even higher stakes taking place off the field, one with potentially big results for the rest of campus.
McCord Pagan is a fifth-year senior in journalism and electronic media. He can be reached at [email protected].
