Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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Several Texas senators on Thursday criticized the recent $200,000 raise for Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes, calling it "nuts" and "tone deaf" during a state budget crisis that threatens deep cuts to higher education.
The state is facing a budget shortfall that some estimates put as high as $27 billion. Current spending proposals would cut money for universities and tuition programs for poor students.
Barnes' raise was approved by university regents on Wednesday.
"I think it's nuts," said state Sen. Steve Ogden, chairman of the Senate's budget writing committee.
"It's not appropriate, not at a time when we're scraping for money for education," said Sen. Jeff Wentworth, a member of the Senate higher education committee.
Ogden and Wentworth are Republicans with connections to Texas' chief rival, Texas A&M University. Texas A&M is in Ogden's district and Wentworth is an A&M graduate.
But Democrats with connections to Texas also chimed in.
"It is bad timing," said higher education committee chairwoman Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Texas graduate. "They didn't ask for my advice."
Sen. Kirk Watson, whose district includes the Texas campus, said the raise suggests regents are "tone deaf" to the budget crisis boiling at the Capitol less than a mile away.
"I'm a big fan of UT basketball and coach Barnes," Watson said. "But at a time when everyone up here is fighting to come up with money to pay for education, it was disappointing."
The Texas athletic budget is separate from the academic budget and Barnes' raise does not include tax money. Texas officials note that the university's new $300 million contract with ESPN will send millions of dollars toward academics.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz1MErc89UR
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
This doesn't happen often, but I have to say, I think UT is right here. I would imagine that their athletic department isn't only self sustaining, but it sounds like it also contributes money back to the university. This has absolutely nothing to do with the state's budget. Just another case of politicians trying to point the blame towards something else to avoid shining any light on their own failures.
If you really want to make a story about this, how about asking why you are giving a $200k raise to a coach that underachieves more than any other coach in the league.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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The Texas athletic budget is separate from the academic budget and Barnes' raise does not include tax money. Texas officials note that the university's new $300 million contract with ESPN will send millions of dollars toward academics.
And there's why the lawmakers are morons.
Rhoads, Ferentz, Hoiberg, McCaffery, etc. could get a raise right now and I frankly wouldn't care. I believe this fiscal year Iowa State's athletic department becomes self-sufficient so lawmakers shouldn't have any say on how they spend their money. As far as I'm concerned, Iowa and Iowa State shouldn't have to present the Board of Regents with projects. It isn't the BoR's money to spend.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
This is the same legislature that just approved 25 million a year for ten years to bring Formula One racing to Texas.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
That's terrible journalism with intent to mislead the reader. The raise has nothing to do with State budget issues in Austin.
Texas hoops coach has got to be the best job in the nation tho. You can pull top talent, make obscene money, and when you have the minimal amount of success given the talent you get a raise. I would coach at Texas before UNC, Duke, or any other major program.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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Originally Posted by
akclone 
That's terrible journalism with intent to mislead the reader. The raise has nothing to do with State budget issues in Austin.
Texas hoops coach has got to be the best job in the nation tho. You can pull top talent, make obscene money, and when you have the minimal amount of success given the talent you get a raise. I would coach at Texas before UNC, Duke, or any other major program.
First sentence is the key. It's just designed to get an emotional response from the unthinking reader.
Since it's not taxpayer money, it's not a problem.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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Originally Posted by
akclone That's terrible journalism with intent to mislead the reader. The raise has nothing to do with State budget issues in Austin.
Texas hoops coach has got to be the best job in the nation tho. You can pull top talent, make obscene money, and when you have the minimal amount of success given the talent you get a raise. I would coach at Texas before UNC, Duke, or any other major program.
No, it's completely accurate reporting on terrible politics by the Texas lawmakers.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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Originally Posted by
cigaretteman No, it's completely accurate reporting on terrible politics by the Texas lawmakers.
??? :confused:
Since when was the Texas Athletic Department funded by the Texas government? If Texas' AD is self-supported (which it is) and isn't taking any government money (which it's not, at least not publicly), then the Texas government has no say in how the Texas AD spends its money, and it's total **** journalism to rip the Texas AD for offering the pay raise because the Texas government is having fiscal problems when neither the Texas AD nor the Texas government have anything to do with one another.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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Originally Posted by
aeroclone If you really want to make a story about this, how about asking why you are giving a $200k raise to a coach that underachieves more than any other coach in the league.
I guess Scott Drew has to work a little harder to get that #1 underachiever status.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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Originally Posted by
jdoggivjc ??? :confused:
Since when was the Texas Athletic Department funded by the Texas government? If Texas' AD is self-supported (which it is) and isn't taking any government money (which it's not, at least not publicly), then the Texas government has no say in how the Texas AD spends its money, and it's total **** journalism to rip the Texas AD for offering the pay raise because the Texas government is having fiscal problems when neither the Texas AD nor the Texas government have anything to do with one another.
The journalist is only reporting that the Lawmakers are ripping on the raise. The journalist is reporting the truth. The journalist pointed out that no taxpayer funds were involved. Did you even read the article?
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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Originally Posted by
cigaretteman No, it's completely accurate reporting on terrible politics by the Texas lawmakers.
My issue was with the author's intent, not accuracy. It seems he/she is trying to link the raise with budget issues and there is no link.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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Originally Posted by
cigaretteman The journalist is only reporting that the Lawmakers are ripping on the raise. The journalist is reporting the truth. The journalist pointed out that no taxpayer funds were involved. Did you even read the article?
Oh come on man, get real. The headline is lawmakers criticize Barnes' raise. There are then 10 paragraphs with quotes from various lawmakers about how bad this is in the current economic environment, as well as some numbers about the state budget shortfall and upcoming cuts to education and the universities. As a reader unfamiliar with the financials of a big college athletic department, at this point it seems to me like we are throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars more at a millionaire basketball coach while we are cutting funding for schools and can't pay our bills. Wow, how out of whack are our priorities?
Finally, in paragraph 11 they point out that the raise doesn't come from tax dollars, and that th UT AD actually contributes money back to the academic side of the school. Which basically undercuts everything that the article was trying to steer the reader towards for the first 10 paragraphs.
This is journalism with an agenda if I have ever seen it.
Re: Texas Lawmakers Critical of Barnes' Raise
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Originally Posted by
aeroclone Oh come on man, get real. The headline is lawmakers criticize Barnes' raise. There are then 10 paragraphs with quotes from various lawmakers about how bad this is in the current economic environment, as well as some numbers about the state budget shortfall and upcoming cuts to education and the universities. As a reader unfamiliar with the financials of a big college athletic department, at this point it seems to me like we are throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars more at a millionaire basketball coach while we are cutting funding for schools and can't pay our bills. Wow, how out of whack are our priorities?
Finally, in paragraph 11 they point out that the raise doesn't come from tax dollars, and that th UT AD actually contributes money back to the academic side of the school. Which basically undercuts everything that the article was trying to steer the reader towards for the first 10 paragraphs.
This is journalism with an agenda if I have ever seen it.
Must be an A&M fan.
