Georgia Tech AD Mike Bobinski recently discussed his "stance on the possibility of players unionizing, paying college athletes and the financial side of the program" in a Q&A with Phil Hudson of the ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE. Below are excerpts.
Q: Do you think players should be allowed to unionize like they are trying to do at Northwestern University?
Bobinski: I don’t see that as something that is a first priority concern of ours right now. ... [The bigger issue is] doing things that demonstrate to the people in our program that we are invested in their future, not just as athletes, not just for what they can do on the playing field or court, but really their overall success.
Q: Do you think college athletes should be paid?
Bobinski: No. I do not. ... There is an awful lot that is provided to young folks here. I think turning it into a paid situation ... changes the whole dynamic. ... In the 1,000 or so schools that are involved in college athletics, 300 something are at the Division I level and 120 are at a high level of football. We’re just not equipped to run employee-based operations and I think a lot of people would exit the industry if that happened.
Q: Does the athletic department financially sustain itself?
Bobinski: Yes. We get a modest amount of support from the institute. ... We get something like $2 million a year from Georgia Tech so it’s not a lot of money. Our budget is about $76 million so the rest of it we are producing ourselves.
Q: Why is Georgia Tech football still advertising for people to buy season tickets following a season that saw a 11-3 overall record?
Bobinski: We are at a five-year high for season tickets as we sit here now. We’ve jumped up several thousand from last year’s numbers. ... The one thing that I think maybe has been an issue for us as over the course of the years is even though we’re a public institution ... I think there has sort of been a sense that perhaps if you’re not part of the Georgia Tech community or family then you weren’t as welcome as we intended you to be. That’s where we are really trying to do things out in the market place to create an image and create an identity. ... It sent a message when we hosted the Rolling Stones concert back in June. ... That broke down the barrier a little bit and had people saying "Hey, this isn’t bad.” I’m walking around preshow and I’m hearing all of these people say "this campus is really nice."
Q: What is your relationship with the Atlanta business community?
Bobinski: We’ve got 70 something suites in our football stadium and several thousand premium seats and they are all sold (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/19).
