At Associated Students Inc.’s Oct. 3 meeting, ASI President Christina Romero asked if the Sacramento State Athletics Department was making appropriate use of its budget with what appears to be a steady stream of new uniforms.

Every semester, $60.50 of every Sac State student’s enrollment fee goes to the Athletics Department, said Pat Worley, executive director of ASI.

Sac State Athletic Director Terry Wanless said the issue of spending money on uniforms is being blown out of proportion.

“We don’t have enough money to be frivolous,” Wanless said, adding that most uniforms are used for three to seven years before being replaced.

The Athletic Department gets about $9 million in funding each year, including $3 million each from student fees, the general university support, and earned department revenue.

The money goes into a general athletic fund that covers most department activities including salaries for coaches, athletic scholarships and supplies such as uniforms, balls and other equipment, Wanless said. The money also goes toward team transportation to out-of-town games.

For the 2005-06 academic year, $2,289,355 was spent on scholarships for Sac State athletes, according to a report from the US Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education, an organization that keeps track of the income and spending for all college athletic departments.

According to the report, another $170,611 was spent on recruitment activities.

The men’s football team had the highest annual operating expenses at $282,308, while the men’s tennis team had the highest operating expenses per participant at $9,621 per player.

Sac State is in it’s third year of a Nike sponsorship, which Wanless said saves the school money while contributing to a consistent and professional image for the university’s teams.

“Our contract with Nike is beneficial because we can purchase uniforms at the wholesale rate, and shoes at 10 percent below wholesale,” Wanless said. “Our kids enjoy being fitted with Nike uniforms.”

“Having the top brand is a good thing,” said Vinnie McGhee, a freshman point guard on the men’s basketball team. “They look nice.”

Prior to the Nike deal, coaches could decide which brands of sporting equipment to use, which resulted in a wide variety of brands on the playing field.

The Athletic Department adopted a new logo this August, but uniforms with the new artwork will be phased in on their regular schedule instead of being replaced all at once, Wanless said.

“We’re not throwing anything out,” Wanless said. “We don’t have the resources. We do it systematically with purpose, we’re not wasteful in the uniform area.”

Some sports, such as softball, will go for to seven years before getting new uniforms, while the basketball and football teams try to replace their uniforms every three to five years, Wanless said.

The men’s soccer team replaces their uniforms every three years, though socks are replaced every year, head coach Michael Linenberger said in an e-mail interview.

Linenberger estimates that under the Nike deal, his team spends $25 for a jersey, $15 on shorts and $5 on socks.

Golf and volleyball players get new fitted t-shirts every year to account for greater wear and tear, Wanless said.

All uniforms are property of the school, to be used by different people as a team cycles athletes.

Basic items like t-shirts and socks are kept by team members.

Wanless said money spent on uniforms was used efficiently, even before the Nike endorsement.

“Everything we purchase is through the state procurement system,” Wanless said. “It’s a bidding process.”

Student’s appear content with the current funding situation, even if they aren’t sports fans.

“To be honest, athletics aren’t that important to me,” said sophomore Charlie Tarnowski. “I think it’s good that part of (tuition) goes toward athletics. It goes toward the college experience and athletics is a part of that. I think nicer uniforms reflect a nicer school.”

Avi Ehrlich and Jose Martinez can be reached at [email protected].