Subsidy of Rutgers Athletics Soars Amid Transition

Rutgers University officials say they still expect the athletics department to be financially independent by 2020 despite having to boost subsidies by nearly 70 percent last year.

USA Today and the Home News Tribune report that Rutgers athletics received nearly $47 million in subsidies from the university in 2012-13, accounting for more than half of athletics' $79 million budget.

It's the biggest subsidy a Division 1 public school athletics program has received in the 10 years USA Today has tracked such data.

The subsidy included $37 million in direct institutional aid and nearly $9.9 million in student fees.

Rutgers officials blame most of the increase on one-time items. Those included the costs of jumping to the Big Ten conference and changing marketing companies, and severance payouts arising from a bullying scandal in the basketball program.

Ticket sales and fundraising were also down.

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