Trev Alberts decries 'dumb expense' issue in college athletics amid shift to revenue sharing

As Division I college athletics move toward a revenue sharing model with athletes, athletic departments are looking at their budgets anew, searching for margins to come up with a roster payroll. And it has Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts not bemoaning shortcomings in revenue, but money seemingly being thrown away.

At SEC spring meetings this week, Alberts shared his perspective: The issue in college sports has not been pulling in enough revenue, but keeping expenses reigned in.

“We’ve just always had enough increasing revenue to overcome dumb expenses,” Alberts said, according to Brandon Marcello. “I’ve said it 100 times, and I’ll say it again: We don’t have a revenue problem in college athletics, we have an expense problem.”

And now, what qualifies as a “dumb” expense has likely changed, as schools are likely to be enabled to directly pay athletes for their time and work. Money that otherwise would’ve gone to paying players in the past was instead funneled to facilities upgrades — think of all the palatial football locker rooms and weight rooms — an inflationary market for coaches and their salaries and, in recent decades, hiring more and more administrative staff to the athletic department.

In a world where institutions had control over the entire pie of revenue, using excess funds beyond operational costs to invest in facilities and staff for the players benefit was arguably an effective spend of resources. But as colleges will increasingly begin channeling money right to the players on their teams, having millions of dollars tied up in a hat-on-a-hat facilities upgrade or paying millions in coaching buyouts becomes less tenable.

And after years after having so much revenue to cover up some of the funny money that might’ve been handed out, Alberts is apparently wising up to the new reality: College athletic departments are going to have to budget a little smarter with players getting a cut.

Alberts might already be getting after excess expenses

Alberts confirmed to The Bryan-College Station Eagle in late April that the Aggies athletic department was downsizing, and he was firing more than a dozen staffers. He made clear the cuts are not related to paying the immense buyout for former head football coach Jimbo Fisher.

The downsizing resulted in a number of longtime employees being cut from the department roster. They include executive deputy athletics director and COO Justin Moore, deputy athletics director for external relations and business development Chris Park, associate athletics director, branding, creative and communications Tyler Pigg and associate athletics director for equipment and apparel Matt Watson, according to The Eagle.

Watson confirmed to The Eagle that he will be able to draw an early retirement after 34 years in the Texas A&M equipment room.

All told, the staff cuts will include more than a dozen employees, according to The Eagle.

Albert addressed the department downsizing in a statement to The Eagle, saying it was a “reorganization related to existing and emerging threats to our business model.” He made clear the people who were being laid off hadn’t erred or been chosen for performance-related reasons.

“We are on the cusp of unprecedented change in the world of intercollegiate athletics,” Alberts said in his statement to The Eagle. “As a department, we have to adapt and become more efficient and effective so that we are best positioned for the changes to come. However, what will not change is this: student-athletes are our priority and making sure their experience at Texas A&M is second to none is our goal.

“This morning, we met with several individuals to inform them that, in light of the upcoming changes to our administrative structure, they will not be employees of the athletics department in the future. These changes are difficult and let me state emphatically, these people have done nothing wrong. These are good, hard-working members of the Aggie family and their service is greatly appreciated. I can assure you, this was not personal, it was a business decision, and a very difficult one at that.”

With respect to Fisher’s buyout, he was owed $76.8 million from Texas A&M, with $19 million paid out within 60 days of his firing. Another $7 million paid out within 120 days of his ouster and the remaining $50.8 million gets paid out in annual installments through 2031 — a bit shy of $6.5 million annually.