The Money Game

Late last week the Boston Globe ran a story saying UMass football, which will play for the national championship Friday night in the "Division Formerly Known As I-AA," lost more money than any such program in the nation. From the story:

UMass officials said the annual shortfall of at least $2.6 million has been budgeted as the price of sustaining a competitive football program that promotes the school's image, provides a unifying, entertaining resource for students and alumni, and extends opportunities to student-athletes, among other perceived benefits.

From an AP story today on the UNH football program:

... UNH football lost more than $1 million during the last fiscal year, 2005-2006. It spent more than $3 million and brought in a little less than $2 million.

The same AP story writes:

UNH athletics director Marty Scarano said most Division I-AA football programs are expected to operate at a loss, but the gap at UNH should be smaller this year, as ticket sales jumped from 172,000 last season to 320,000 this fall.

Three points:
1. Reading the two stories, it's clear valid comparisons between the programs are almost impossible because of different accounting procedures. I remember trying to compare Dartmouth's available athletic budget numbers to those of other Ivy League schools when I was at the newspaper and the figures made absolutely no sense. It turned out one school would include certain figures and another school would not. When I asked Dean of the College Jim Larimore about the discrepancy, he said it wasn't comparing apples and oranges. It was, he offered in a memorable quote, like "comparing apples and hubcaps."
2. I have no idea where the AP got those UNH attendance figures. According to the stats on the school web site, UNH drew 40,706 fans for home games and 124,199 for road games, a total of 124,199, not even close to 320,000. (Light bulb thought: The numbers are probably dollars; 40,000 fans times $8 would be $320,000. Note to AP: If that's what you mean, use dollar signs.)
3. Because Dartmouth is a private institution, budget numbers like those released for UMass and UNH are unavailable. I suspect, however, that my old newpaper would like nothing more than to have my successor beat his head against the wall trying to uncover Dartmouth's football budget numbers. If he does, I'll not be too proud to share them ... with credit. But don't hold your breath.

Casey Cramer gets another mention here for his play in the Tennessee Titans' win Saturday. ...

The topic of a postseason tournament for Ivy League basketball gets play in the Harvard Crimson and the Daily Princetonian, which notes, "Each of the past 18, and 38 of the past 40, Ivy automatic bids have been awarded to either Penn or Princeton. A postseason tournament would provide a better chance for the league's other six schools to win a bid."

And finally, the answer:
He was a copy editor on the sports desk of a daily newspaper
The question:
What was one of the jobs held by the Dartmouth student who will be trying to win on Jeopardy for the fifth time tonight?
There are stories here and here.