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