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January 21, 2000
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Volume 7, Number 9 |
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GENERAL |
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Canadian college sport has $727-million economic impactBy Robert James The value of sport in universities across the country has leapt to new heights. The Canadian Inter-university Athletic Union, CIAU, has just completed a study which assessed the economic impact of sport. And quite clearly, the results are impressive. In October 1998, 22 of the 48 CIAU member schools responded to a comprehensive questionnaire. Topics included the number of employees, salaries, media occurrences, student athletes, and the revenues and expenditures associated with inter-university teams. Other factors examined include employee wages, rental and operating costs, outreach programs and sport camps. Speaking with On Campus News from his Ottawa office, the Director of Operations and Development for the CIAU, Tom Huisman explains, "we launched the research project to not only educate university athletic departments and administration, but also Joe Public about how much money university sports generates in our communities." "We've always talked about the personal development side of education, but through this study, we examined the economic value of sport – and what we found has even surprised the CIAU membership." After crunching the numbers and establishing an average for all 48 universities, the CIAU study recorded two significant results. First, the effect by university athletic teams on tuition fees/operating grants was just under $155 million. And second, the remaining economic impact totaled $572 million – for an overall impact created by university sport of just under $727 million dollars. In London, Ont., Darwin Semotiuk of the University of Western Ontario, who helped draft the questionnaire, says "this is the first study of its kind – and while we always had our suspicions about the value of sport, the question remained: Show me the money!" The CIAU economic impact study not only answers that question, but puts it all into perspective. U of S Director of Huskie Athletics, Ross Wilson, says "the study tells us what we're doing is not only economically beneficial to the university, but to Saskatoon and the entire country." A strong sports program is helping to spur local economies. Restaurants and hotels benefit to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly. The general manager of Saskatoon's Quality Inn Hotel, Jim Wirun says, "we recognize sport tourism as a vital part of our industry. "In particular, visiting sports clubs including many college teams, generate about eight per cent of our revenue – or around $250,000 a year, not including meals." Recently, Tourism Saskatoon formed a "Sport Tourism" partnership to reap the economic benefits of sport. Todd Brandt explains, "Tourism Saskatoon is the managing partner working with SaskPlace, the City of Saskatoon, the U of S and other organizations in trying to draw major college and professional sporting events to our city." Add to that, the fact the 15 men’s and women's teams that make up the U of S Huskie Athletics program have excelled in their fields, gaining national notoriety in football, volleyball and other sports. "University administration has told us our sports program has brought positive attention and prestige to the campus," Wilson says. However, today's financial realities affecting Canadian universities have put some sport programs in jeopardy – and U of S Huskie Athletics is not immune. But, despite the fiscal pressures, Wilson is confident the CIAU study results will add further weight to their argument that sports programs are worth maintaining. For Wilson, the tale of the tape is "being able to use the results on our own campus as leverage to help our sport programs excel to even greater heights."
For further information, visit the web site or contact communications@usask.ca
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Next issue of On Campus News: Friday, February 4
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