Controversy surrounding campus loans to the UC Berkeley Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has caused a stir among faculty, raising concerns over supporting athletic teams that drain needed resources during a time of severe financial strife.

The department borrowed $5.8 million from the campus in fiscal year 2008-09 in order to cover a deficit in its $64.9 million budget. Campus officials have said the loan will be repaid, though terms have yet to be determined.

An additional $7.7 million dollars for the department's budget was also raised through student registration fees, as well as from a discretionary fund overseen by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, which funded women's

athletic teams per Title IX legal requirements.

Faculty have criticized the campus' support of athletic programs, which some say undermines funding for academic programs.

"When you have very little money, what do you cut back on?" said Leslea Hlusko, an associate professor of integrative biology. "Athletics is wonderful but should be scaled back if it is compromising the essential mission of the university."

In order to pay back the loan and close the deficit, Athletic Director Sandy Barbour said that "everything is on the table," including the elimination of sports teams that cost more than they raise in revenues.

However, she also said that some teams could not be eliminated, as participation in the Pac-10 requires at least 16 specific teams, while NCAA Division I rules require at least seven sports for men and women.

The 25 non-revenue sports cumulatively cost the department $17.6 million in fiscal year 2008-09 according to the U.S. Department of Education Web site. Much of that was paid through football revenues, totaling $12.5 million, and men's basketball, totaling $1.7 million.

"I would like to see (the department) stay healthy along all dimensions, including financial," said Alice Agogino, a professor of mechanical engineering. "We support more teams than other campuses. One option might be to move some of those to intramural or club sports."

But campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said the value of retaining non-revenue sports outweighs their costs, as it reflects the broader goals of the campus towards a diversification of excellence.

"It's the same question of what value there is for a small academic department," Mogulof said. "We want to accommodate as many athletic endeavors as possible, just like we want to accommodate as many intellectual endeavors as possible."

Still, many faculty members have questioned such a value in light of struggling campus academic programs.

"We have a program that's supposed to be auxiliary, self supporting," computer science professor Brian Barsky said Monday. "It's not, and it's not by a significant amount. And at a time when we have so many other cuts ... it makes us wonder about the priorities we have."

Barbour added that while the long-term goal of the department is to be self-sustainable, high expectations, such as winning a national championship in every sport, currently necessitate campus support.

"If we were to say, 'Let's have 16 mediocre programs,' we can be self-supporting in a heartbeat," she said. "But we'll lose all the value we could hope to bring to this campus."

Tags: DEPARTMENT OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS, TITLE IX