In responding to our inquiry about what the readers suggest we do about UTEP football this comment came in:
“Yawn. If it pays for itself, OK. If it doesn’t, get rid of it.”
We found this web page published by the Texas Tribune:
https://college-sports.texastribune.org/colleges/university-of-texas-at-el-paso/
According to the web page during the 2015-2016 school year UTEP spent $9,699,853 on their football program.
Ticket sales amounted to $582,469.
The rest of the shortfall came from student fees, university funds, NCAA fees, and contributions.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Then, it should indeed become obvious that this program should just be abandoned. Tuition costs are already too high, so at least if tuition doesn’t go to such a sorry program, then maybe education could improve.
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So with simple math, the football “Program” is, was MORE than 9 MILLION$$$$ in the hole. So apparently that is why tuition is so high, keeps increasing, cost so much to go THERE? Well on the bright side, guess taxpayers are lucky there is no football “Program” at El Paso Community College. How much tuition do Foreign Students pay at UTEP? Like El Paso school districts, NADA?
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If the city, that has elected representatives, is incapable of fiscal restraint, what are the odds that UTEP, with zero accountability to the taxpayer, will end a cash-draining program.
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Football isn’t the only program. What do you think ticket sales are like for events such as track and field or fencing?
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Those probably pack them in; must be millions. Especially the women’s teams 🙂
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It’s one thing if a program is making money, but what doesn’t make sense is the big salaries and contracts paid to athletic directors and football and basketball coaches who run losing programs. If you’re going to lose year after year, cut your financial losses and hire coaches who are willing to work for reasonable salaries and without multi-year guarantees.
The university also knows that because of their positions and only because of their positions, some of those individuals have been given opportunities to make sweetheart investments in deals with local business people who then receive special privileges at UTEP.
But if we’re going to get all wound up about tax dollars being used to subsidize sports, let’s not forget that our tax dollars are being used to subsidize the private sports enterprises of two wealthy families at least one of which is a billionaire. Students shouldn’t have to pay higher tuitions to subsidize football and we should not have to pay higher taxes to subsidize a for-profit sports team.
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