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The Student News Site of San Francisco State University

Golden Gate Xpress

The Student News Site of San Francisco State University

Golden Gate Xpress

Limited funding for SF State athletics affects performance on field

Limited+funding+for+SF+State+athletics+affects+performance+on+field

The NCAA sets a maximum number of scholarships that any one team can have.  The actual dollar number varies from sport to sport and is adjusted for cost of attendance at a given school.

No school in the CCAA comes close to fulfilling all of its allowed scholarship spending. Most hover around 50 percent, with the highest number at 65 percent. SF State only spends 27 percent.

For example, the Gator men’s basketball team’s faced Chico State in January 2010. SF State had $48,000 in aid split between its 11-member squad. The Wildcats spent more than $115,000 on their squad.  The Gators lost by 12 points that night.

“They can get away with five full rides or even six. We just can’t do that,” Wallace said. “It becomes more difficult to get that type of kid that can help your program be successful.”

So why is it that SF State has such a smaller base of scholarship money to work with? It would seem that a school in a big city like San Francisco would be able to attract a lot more fundraising dollars than a school way out in Sonoma.

Location actually has the opposite effect. Sonoma State is almost 100 miles away from the nearest major university. It’s the only game in town. Without competition from neighboring schools, Chico State is able to attract an undivided share of the booster money from the area.

“Division II schools that do well have an unencumbered hinterland,” Simpson said.

SF State, on the other hand, shares its market with major programs like Cal and Stanford along with competitive programs like St. Mary’s, USF, UCSF and others. The Gators only see a fraction of the fundraising dollars that are earned in the Bay Area.

“This market is over saturated,” Wallace said. “When you’re a small player in an over saturated market, it’s hard to get people to buy your product or service. That’s the issue that we have right now.”

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Limited funding for SF State athletics affects performance on field