When the bands, cheerleaders and mascots drum up excitement for their schools’ sports teams this fall, their wide smiles and precision stunts may be masking something: Fanfare doesn’t come cheap.
While sports teams may travel in style, Division I-A athletic departments at public schools spent anywhere from zero â?? at schools such as UCLA and Idaho â?? to $1.2 million at Tennessee and Texas on “spirit,” according to their 2005 and 2006 NCAA financial reports.
In some cases, universities have redirected spirit costs, especially when it’s an integral part of the school’s image. Wisconsin, for example, moved funding for the marching band to an endowment â?? now worth $4 million â?? when the athletic department was having financial difficulties in the 1990s, according to director of bands Mike Leckrone.