The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics Department earned a solid second place for the 2013-2014 Excellence in Management Cup.
The championship cup was established by the Laboratory for the Study of Intercollegiate Athletics at Texas A&M University to answer this question: Who is the most economically efficient athletic department in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision?
The EM Cup awards athletic departments that win the most conference and national championships with the lowest expenses. The scores are calculated in a formula that accounts for total athletic department spending, number of sports played, and the number of conference and national championships won by each Division I (FBS) university.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Athletics Department earned second place by “proving to be an efficient and balanced athletic department both financially and athletically,” said Shane L. Hudson, clinical associate professor, at Texas A&M.
The University of Idaho was named this year’s national champion. Utah Valley University finished third. The EM Cup scores were:
No. 1 Idaho 3.8506
No. 2 Louisiana 3.3111
No. 3 Utah Valley 2.5790
In July, CBSSports.com named Louisiana No. 34 in its Best in College Sports. That ranking was based on athletic success, rather than financial standing. Louisiana was the top non-automatic qualifying BCS school in the rankings. Yet, Louisiana’s budget is significantly lower, compared to its CBSSports.com peers, according to USA Today.
No. 33 Nebraska ($86.9 million)
No. 34 Louisiana ($18.1 million)
No. 35 Penn State ($104.7 million)
No. 36 Tennessee ($111.5 million)
No. 37 Iowa ($107.1 million)
The University’s total athletics budget just seven years ago was $9 million, second to last among FBS schools, according to Scott Farmer, the director of Louisiana Athletics.
“Our athletics budget has come a long way in recent years, thanks to donors, sponsors and fan support,” said Dr. Joseph Savoie, president of UL Lafayette.
“This recognition by the Excellence in Management Cup is a testament to the spirit of the Ragin’ Cajuns.”
In 2013-14, five Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns teams – football, baseball, softball, men’s basketball and tennis – won conference titles.