The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 — 7
Michigan offense struggles in loss to Ohio State
Just when it looked like the
ball would sneak into the net,
Tommy Heidt reached behind
himself and trapped it against
the ground.
The
senior
goalkeeper
prevented
Ohio
State
(1-2
Big Ten, 6-6 overall) from
taking the lead over the No. 20
Michigan men’s lacrosse team
in the second quarter of Friday
night’s game, but the Wolverines
ultimately lost, 8-5.
Michigan (0-3 Big Ten, 7-5
overall) gave up three goals in
the first quarter while adding
only one of its own, when junior
midfielder Brent Noseworthy
found
twine
on
a
man-up
opportunity late in the opening
stanza.
But once Heidt settled in
and stood tall in the cage, the
Buckeyes had to fight to score.
Heidt’s ten first-half saves —
sometimes in dramatic fashion
— marked his highest save total
in a first half this season.
“Tommy Heidt was the real
show today,” said Michigan
coach Kevin Conry. “He had 15
saves, kept guys in the game,
had fantastic energy regardless
of the situation and really held
command of the defense and the
whole game. He was a real star
today.”
While Heidt was controlling
the defense, the Wolverines’
offense struggled to get going.
Then, junior midfielder Decker
Curran notched his first score
of the day at the 12:27 mark
of the second quarter, cutting
Michigan’s deficit to only one.
Ten minutes later, freshman
attacker
Alex
Buckanavage
scored on a roll-out from behind
the goal, getting underneath the
defender to slip the ball between
Ohio State goalkeeper Josh
Kirson’s legs and tie the game.
Though
the
Wolverines
held the Buckeyes scoreless
for a nearly 29-minute stretch
going from 6:20 remaining in
the first quarter through eight
minutes into the third, frequent
turnovers kept Michigan from
earning a lead.
“In the third quarter, we
kept turning the ball over in the
offensive end and in the clearing
game, which kept giving them
second-chance opportunities,”
Conry said. “Big Ten lacrosse
is such a well-coached — such
a tough conference that if you
start
giving
teams
multiple
second-chance
opportunities,
they’re good enough to take
advantage of it.”
Though
freshman
Connor
Cronin has had success at the
faceoff
dot
throughout
the
season, he struggled to win
faceoffs in the second half. The
difficulty
limited
offensive
opportunities and required a lot
of work from the defense, which
wore down in the third quarter
and allowed four goals.
“Connor Cronin’s been doing
such a great job for us, and wing
play has been so vital in all of
our wins,” Conry said. “But
when you’re playing defense
over and over and over again,
the guys wear down, and they’re
the same guys we rely on to go
up and take wings. I don’t think
it was anything Connor did
specifically, I think it was more
just the three-man game got a
little bit less effective.”
The lone Michigan goal in the
third quarter came from junior
attacker Rocco Sutherland to put
the Wolverines at a 7-4 deficit.
Curran added his second score
of the day halfway through the
fourth period, but it proved to be
too little, too late.
Turnovers ultimately doomed
Michigan,
as
it
could
not
capitalize on its opportunities in
the fourth quarter, adding just
one goal on seven shots while
committing three turnovers.
“It’s our discipline and our
attention to detail,” Conry said.
“Right now, we’re just kinda
doing some silly things … we’re
just a young, inexperienced
group who is playing in the best
conference in lacrosse against
some of the best teams in the
country. And when you play
against those teams, a lot of the
turnovers that we were having
earlier on in the season that
weren’t getting exposed are
starting to get exposed now.”
The turnover issue in Friday’s
game is the continuation of a
theme for the Wolverines, who
have had double-digit turnovers
in all three Big Ten games so far.
With just two regular season
games remaining, the issue has
become top priority for Conry.
“We’ve been going back to
basics the better part of two
weeks here, and it’s already
starting
to
show,”
Conry
said. “We’re down a couple
turnovers. We didn’t have 18
today, we didn’t have 15, we had
13, so there is some marginal
improvement there.
“If we can just keep chipping
away at these turnovers, then
we’re gonna be in a better
position with our hands free and
take good, fundamental shots.
And once that happens, we’ll see
the wins start to fall.”
The next two weeks will tell
if the wins will fall in time for
Michigan to earn a spot in the
Big Ten Tournament, but with
No. 4 Johns Hopkins coming
to town next week, it may need
more than fewer turnovers to
notch a win.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior goaltender Tommy Heidt kept the game scoreless for 29 minutes, but Michigan would inevitably fall.
BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer
Despite tough conditions,
Mueller works way to 2nd
By the end of Saturday’s
opening rounds, Kyle Mueller
had worked his way into a good
spot. The senior sat tied for
second place — just one stroke
off the lead — and would have a
chance to make his move come
Sunday.
Or so he thought.
Weather dictated otherwise.
Overnight
rain
paired
with
strong winds made the course
unplayable,
canceling
the
final round of the Boilermaker
Invitational in West Lafayette,
Ind.
“It definitely felt a little
strange,” said Michigan coach
Chris Whitten. “We went to the
golf course today really hoping
to play. … It just wasn’t gonna be
possible. … It’s one of those things
we don’t have any control over.”
Mueller settled for a runner-
up finish at four-under par,
while the Michigan men’s golf
team finished in eighth with a
587 (294 first 18, 293 second).
Kent State and Northwestern
co-championed the 17-team field,
scoring eight strokes better than
the Wolverines.
Though Mueller’s opportunity
to win washed away with the
rain, he still put his skills on
display during Saturday’s 36
holes.
Though there was no rain,
heavy winds wreaked havoc for
many — but not Mueller.
When it’s windy on the course,
golfers who naturally play draws
or fades struggle to adjust. This
is where Mueller’s talent comes
into play. Because of his straight
ball flight, he’s able to better
compensate for the wind. This
helped him successfully navigate
the course and post back-to-back
70s while others stumbled.
“Generally, the thing that
makes Kyle so good is his ball
striking,” Whitten said. “He just
hits the ball very solid and very
straight. He rarely curves it off
line very much. … Everyone else’s
misses are amplified much more,
and Kyle does very well.”
Five
other
Wolverines
competed as well. Junior Nick
Carlson and sophomore Brent
Ito finished 62nd and 70th,
respectively, while sophomore
Taisei Negishi played as an
individual and placed 92nd in the
92-player field.
Freshmen Charlie Pilon and
Henry Spring played well enough
to impress Whitten, placing 12th
and 56th.
“They’ve just become very
good at adapting to whatever the
weather or the circumstances
are,” Whitten said. “That’s what
you’ve gotta be able to do in
college golf, so I was happy about
that.”
Michigan improved by one
stroke between the two rounds,
which was much more significant
than it may entail. The team’s
first round score of 294 was only
the eighth-best of that 18-hole
stretch, but the Wolverines’ 293
in round two marked the second-
best of that stage.
Whitten
credits
the
improvement to his team’s calm
during the storm, and thinks
Michigan could have made some
noise Sunday.
“The
conditions
yesterday
were so tough,” Whitten said.
“So, I would say the guys held
their own and did a very good job
of focusing in tough conditions.
Even though we were eighth
place, we were not that far behind
the leader. That’s why we wanted
to play today, because we really
thought there was a good chance
to move up.
“I
think
we
had
some
momentum going.”
But the Wolverines never
got the chance to build on that
momentum.
A look inside the finances of a women’s basketball team
According to a financial report
authored by the NCAA Membership
Financial
Reporting
System
—
data requested in a Freedom of
Information Act request submitted
by The Michigan Daily and also in
the Equity in Athletics Data Analysis
report submitted by the University
— the Michigan women’s basketball
team spent just over $4 million in the
2016-17 season.
With a roster of 15 student-
athletes, that comes out to $266,666
per athlete each year, or $1.08 million
over a four-year college career. For
comparison, that equates to a year’s
cost of attendance for about 27 out-of-
state or 40 in-state students.
Based on expense records found in
the Equity in Athletics Data Analysis
submitted by the University to the U.S.
Department of Education, Michigan
has spent an average of $2.66 million a
year since 2003. When looking at the
last five years, the Wolverines have
disbursed an average of $3.5 million.
To put that in perspective, they
made $407,000 in revenue last year.
The
Michigan
baseball
and
softball teams — squads with
comparable revenue figures — spent
significantly less than women’s
basketball. According to the NCAA
financial report, baseball spent $2.7
million while softball spent $2.6 in the
2016-2017 school year — meaning, the
women’s basketball team spent about
35 percent more. The hockey team,
which had a revenue of $3.1 million,
spent less than women’s basketball at
$3.6 million.
In fact, the only two teams with
higher
expenses
than
women’s
basketball were men’s basketball and
football, with $8.8 million and $46.2
million, respectively.
So where is the money going?
About 30 percent, or $1.22 million,
of the team’s total expenses went to
the coaching staff’s salary, benefits
and bonuses. Head coach Kim Barnes
Arico’s compensation was just shy
of $693,000 while her assistants
made $529,000 collectively. Arico’s
total was the highest of any coach of
a female sport at Michigan and the
third-highest overall behind football
coach Jim Harbaugh and men’s
basketball coach John Beilein.
That’s an average salary relative to
other Big Ten women’s coaches and
is about half as much as Ohio State
coach Kevin McGuff.
The next largest expense came in
the form of athletic scholarships and
aid. Of the 15 players on the roster,
13.4 total scholarships were given out
and one scholarship was attributed
as a “exhausted eligibility or medical
equivalency.” The total amount of
financial assistance was $1.03 million.
Women’s basketball spent more
on financial assistance last year than
the total yearly operating expenses
of the men’s golf team ($647,000) and
the women’s golf team ($813,000) and
about the same as men’s gymnastics,
men’s and women’s tennis, water polo
and wrestling.
The third-largest expenditure was
the team’s in-season travel. Taking
buses and chartered planes around
the country ran up a tab of over
$700,000. When including per diem
and meals on road trips, that number
rises well over $800,000.
How do they stack up in the Big
Ten?
On the surface, the Wolverines’
expenses are large. However, relative
to the rest of the Big Ten, Michigan
is somewhat conservative. For the
2015-16 season, the Wolverines had
the fourth-lowest total operating
expenses in the conference at $3.7
million. Comparatively, the University
of Nebraska, the University of
Wisconsin and Ohio State University
each spent over $5 million.
But where Michigan truly lags
behind is its ability to make money.
The Wolverines had the Big Ten’s
second-lowest
operating
revenue
during 2015-16 at $328,000. Even
with an $80,000 increase in total
revenue for the 2016-17 season,
Michigan still struggles to produce
funds. The team made $168,000 from
ticket sales and $48,000 from parking
and concessions according to the
NCAA financial report released.
With 53,400 fans attending games
in 2016-17 according to the Big Ten
and NCAA official websites. Dividing
total season revenue — comprised of
aspects such as ticket sales, parking
and concessions at each game —
by total attendees on the season,
Michigan earned $4.04 per attendee.
The Wolverines’ average attendance
of 2,672 ranked ninth in the
conference and 45th in the country.
Even if Michigan was to have the
same attendance as South Carolina
— the school with the nation’s highest
attendance — the Wolverines still
would’ve lost $3 million.
Michigan is a product of the
system.
Yes,
Michigan
may
have
difficulties
generating
revenue.
However, the scope of this dilemma
expands beyond the Wolverines or
even the Big Ten.
As a whole, NCAA women’s teams
struggle to stay in the black.
Even the ultimate powerhouse
Connecticut — a program that has
made eleven consecutive Final Fours
and has won ten national titles since
2000 — isn’t profitable. In 2016-17,
the Huskies produced a revenue
of $3.55 million while spending an
astronomical $7.9 million.
While Connecticut was able to
make $2.18 million in ticket sales,
its costly expenditures added up.
The largest portion of the Huskies’
expenses went to Coach Geno
Auriemma, who made $2.88 million
last year. His staff added another $1
million.
If
you
take
the
difference
between Auriemma’s and Barnes
Arico’s salaries and subtract that
from Connecticut’s total expenses,
the remaining figure is roughly
$5.1 million – not too far off from
Michigan’s expenses of $4 million.
But the Huskies aren’t the only
elite women’s program losing money.
Louisville – another team in this
year’s Final Four and a perennially
elite team – takes a financial loss. Last
year, the Cardinals saw a revenue of
$1.28 million while spending $4.8
million.
Why aren’t women’s basketball
programs making money?
The
majority
of
women’s
basketball programs aren’t profitable.
In fact, many women’s basketball
programs lose millions.
Title IX plays a factor in these lofty
expenditure numbers.
In 1972, the Title IX Education
Amendments were signed by former
President
Richard
Nixon.
The
legislation dictated that no individual
will be discriminated against due to
their gender in educational programs.
This includes athletics.
“No person in the United States
shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded
from participation in, be denied
the benefits of, or be subject to
discrimination under any educational
program or activity receiving federal
financial assistance,” Nixon said in
1972.
Based on a report by the
National
Center
for
Education
Statistics, between 2000 and 2016,
postsecondary degrees obtained by
women have increased; 7 percent in
bachelor’s degrees and 4 percent for
master’s or higher education.
The law has also helped increase
gender equality in athletics. From
2004 and 2010, women’s participation
in NCAA Division I and III athletics
has increased 14 percent, as well as 21
percent in Division II.
The Women’s Sports Foundation
explains how Title IX is enforced in
regards to athletics.
“A three-part test for participation
opportunities that determines if
institutions provide female and
male students with equal athletic
opportunities.” Those three parts
are
“Proportionality,”
“History
and
Continuing
Practice,”
and
“Effectively
Accommodating
Interests and Abilities.”
Opportunities,
however,
don’t
necessarily
mean
equivalent
expenses.
“The only monetary requirement
of Title IX deals with the area of
scholarships.
Scholarships
must
be allocated in proportion to the
number of female and male students
participating
in
intercollegiate
athletics,” says the Women’s Sports
Foundation on its website.
In an email to The Daily, University
Associate Athletic Director Kurt
Svoboda explained that the concept
of proportionality means, “Males
and females participate in athletics in
numbers substantially proportional
to their respective enrollments in
school.”
Proportionality also applies to the
total number of scholarships. Because
schools typically must make up the
number of scholarships awarded
for sports with no female equivalent
(such as football and wrestling),
women’s teams often have more
scholarships granted than their male
counterparts.
This is clear in basketball, where
the average Division I women’s
program has 14 scholarships to men’s
13, according to College Athletic
Associations.
With the national average of a
women’s basketball scholarship being
about $17,000, according to a link
provided by Svoboda via email to The
Michigan Daily, the typical women’s
college basketball program spends
$238,000 on financial assistance.
At a school like Michigan, where
out-of-state tuition can cost upwards
of $62,000, scholarships for the
women’s basketball program runs
around $1 million.
Another contributing factor to
these relatively high expenses is the
high market rate for head coaches.
Based on a study conducted by
AthleticDirectorU in partnership
with USA Today, the average
compensation of a women’s head
coach in the Big Ten was $664,000
in 2016-17. The highest conference
average was the Atlantic Coast
Conference, where coaches earned
around $760,000.
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey had the
highest reported total compensation
of $1.88 million, while Adia Barnes of
Arizona had the lowest at $235,000.
The system doesn’t look like it’ll
change.
The high expenses of women’s
college basketball teams are very
much a byproduct of the system. In
order to operate, major programs
like Michigan are almost required
to spend exorbitant sums on coaches
and scholarships while generating
relatively minimal fan draw, and thus,
little revenue.
If this year’s Women’s Final Four is
any indication, the trend will continue.
According to the NCAA, the
women’s
national
championship
game between Notre Dame and
Mississippi State averaged 3.5 million
viewers, reduced from 3.8 million
last year. The entire women’s Final
Four generated 7.62 million viewers
– for comparison, the men’s semifinal
games garnered 97 million.
All
factors
considered,
it’s
extremely difficult for any women’s
college program to be profitable.
And Michigan is no different.
But with lucrative football and
men’s basketball programs more than
making up the difference, schools
like Michigan can afford to spend
on non-profitable sports. It’s clear
the Wolverines invest in the optimal
student-athlete experience. And it’s
apparent that the women’s basketball
team is an integral part of that
experience, regardless of the finances.
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
MEN’S LACROSSE
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
The Michigan women’s basketball team ranked ninth in the Big Tenin average attendance.
HUNTER SHARF
Daily Sports Writer