MUNCIE, Ind. — After growing for eight years, Ball State's athletics budget will shrink in fiscal year 2017.
It's a modest decrease of about $330,000 compared to the $23 million budget itself. But the decrease halts a streak of growth stretching back to 2008, according to records provided by the university.
This is important because the national debate about higher education funding continues. The Star Press and others have reported that reported skeptics across the country don’t think money collected from tuition and other academic avenues should fund athletics.
Because Ball State’s programs, like an overwhelming majority of athletic departments across the country, don’t bring in enough to cover its costs — football lost $4.