By Bob Hertzel
MORGANTOWN — Earlier this week columnist Chuck Landon of the Huntington Herald-Dispatch stumbled across section of West Virginia University Athletic Director Ed Pastilong’s deposition in the Rich Rodriguez mess that centered upon the school’s long-standing claim to self-sufficiency within the athletic department.
Pastilong’s words in the deposition seemed to contradict that, so much so that Landon reached the conclusion that the claim was “balderdash”.
Let us first go to the transcript that Landon based his “balderdash” on:
Question: And, for the jury, give me a rough approximation what percentage comes from the university and what percentage — or the state, and what percentage comes from the foundation?
Pastilong: Well, I would say the majority comes from the state and, then, the second most would be from the foundation and there are monies that come from our particular conference via television revenues, etc.
Question: And of the $48 million, what would be an approximation that would come from the foundation — $10 million, $20 million or something between those two numbers?
Pastilong: Something between those two.
Question: On an annual basis?
Pastilong: On an annual basis.
Without question Pastilong did say that of his entire budget, “the majority comes from the state.” It’s there in black and white and red all over, but in this case what you see isn’t what you get.
See, if Landon had used the cell phone that is always hanging around his ear and dialed Pastilong’s number and asked him about the discrepancy between the self-sufficient claim that demands the Mountaineers play seven home games a year and interferes with the changes of playing at Marshall every other year and the words uttered in the deposition he would hear this:
“We are self-sufficient, one of handful of institutions that receive no money from the state to run our athletic department,” Pastilong said when this was brought up to him.
“There is one line item of $100,000 that goes to the rifle team. Other than that we are totally self-supporting. We have budget of $52 million and approximately 500 student athletes participating, 400 of them on some form of scholarship.
“That is funded entirely, all $7 million, by contributions that to the Foundation. Our ticket, television, conference income is put into state managed accounts.”
That money, according to Pastilong, is then redistributed back to the athletic department, air travel, athletic department salaries, game operations and facilities.
So, on paper, it comes from the state but the accounts it comes out of, according to the athletic director, are funded by the revenues taken in by the athletic department.
“It is state revenues that are generated by us,” Pastilong said.
Last year, WVU’s athletic budget grew to $50 million.
“We finished the year in the black $1 million,” Pastilong noted. “We have been in the black the last few years, ever since we went in the red $8 million or $9 million because of facility projects.”
The profitable years roll over and give them a cushion for down years.
“One year,” Pastilong noted, “we had an $8 million surplus. That was when Milan Puskar gave us $4 million one year and $10 million the next.”
But as for the Landon’s “proof” that WVU’s being financed at least half by the state, Pastilong would have one word if he had to answer him — balderdash.
o o o o o o
THIS ‘N THAT: With a crowd of 58,106, West Virginia passed 10 million in attendance at Mountaineer Field and Milan Puskar Stadium since it opened in 1980 … The 98-yard touchdown kickoff return by Tavon Austin was the seventh longest in WVU history … Middle linebacker Reed Williams left the game with a back problem but it is not thought to be serious … Pat Lazear led the Mountaineers with 11 tackles … Wide receiver Jock Sanders once again led WVU in receiving with eight for 81 yards … Sanders has caught at least one pass in 21 straight games … WVU intercepted three passes from Cody Endres, who had thrown only one coming in — Keith Tandy, Kent Richardson and nose guard Chris Neild each had one — and Neild was the only one who didn’t fumble his. WVU has 12 interceptions on the season.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
