Should Legislature investigate U-M athletic salaries?

A Washington Post investigation of ballooning salaries at college athletic departments found that the University of Michigan was one of the biggest offenders.

In 2004, University of Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin made $361,000, and 15 of his administrative employees made $100,000 or more. Ten years later, the Post found, Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon made $900,000, and the number of his administrative staffers making $100,000 or more had risen to 34. Apparently many of those newly created jobs are related to the football program.

The Post reviewed thousands of pages of financial records from athletic departments at 48 schools in the “Power Five” conferences and concluded that the non-coaching payrolls at the schools, combined, rose from $454 million to $767 million, a 69 percent jump after adjusting for inflation.

Rising costs blamed for high fees

“College sports officials long have cited rising costs both to justify mandatory student fees supporting athletics and to argue against paying college athletes. One of the fastest-increasing athletic costs at many of America’s largest public universities, however, is the amount of money flowing into the paychecks of the people running those athletic departments,” the news story said.

The Post writers offer the narrative of a particularly arrogant exchange last year between U-M executive Hunter Lochmann and others attending a conference on college sports finances. Lochmann explained why he does not believe players deserve to be paid.

Michigan's "M" a global power?

“Those are fleeting, four-year relationships,” he said of the careers of Michigan athletes. “At Michigan, it’s the block ‘M’ that has the affinity and power globally, not (former Michigan quarterback) Denard Robinson.”

The Post noted that the response was especially interesting coming from Lochmann, a former longtime National Basketball Association marketing executive who himself had just a four-year relationship with college sports at that point. In 2014, Lochmann made $225,000 performing a job — chief marketing officer at Michigan athletics — that didn’t exist before 2010, when then-Michigan athletic director Brandon created the position, luring Lochmann from the New York Knicks.

Lochmann was not the only new face in Michigan athletics. Between 2004 and 2014, records show, the department added 77 new full-time positions, contributing to an administrative payroll surge from $14.7 million to $27.7 million, an 89 percent increase (again, after inflation).

Former coaches blow the whistle on salaries

According to the Post, some former coaches have belittled this sudden, perceived need for much larger athletic staffs at major college programs, particularly non-coaching positions supposedly linked to football.

“These coaches are hiring people to do anything,” said former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden, the second-winningest coach in major college football history.

“We didn’t even realize we needed them,” said Bowden, who retired in 2009. “I don’t know how we won all those ballgames back in the olden days.”