It's that time of year. This weekend, the very first BCS rankings will be released. It is expected that Boise State will be atop the rankings as the computers love their schedule thus far. That will change in the forthcoming weeks as the Broncos venture into the thick of their whack WAC schedule. But, let's set all of this aside for a moment and turn our attention to the BCS Bowls themselves. These are self-proclaimed charitable institutions, much like XYZ Cancer Institute. Let's explore just how charitable they truly are...
If one is going to benefit from the tax status of a charitable organization, one must compensate executives within a "reasonable" salary and benefit range. How do we determine reasonable? Executives do not have to donate their time or accept subpar pay. However, they cannot accept grossly higher dollars and benefits while the Bowl keeps its tax exempt status. Under the preceding guidelines, the following was recently reported by Playoff Pac:
- The Fiesta Bowl gave two Bowl executives $240,000 in unsecured interest-free loans, reportedly to pay for their personal memberships in a private golf club.
- Sugar Bowl Exec. Dir. Paul Hoolahan received $645,386 in FYE 2009, a year in which the Sugar Bowl lost money despite receiving a $1.4 million government grant. Mr. Hoolahan collected $25,000 more than the Rose Bowl’s top three executives combined.
- Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker received $317,717 in FYE 2009 for working just 21 hours per week from the Arizona Sports Foundation, the Bowl’s lead entity. Mr. Junker’s total compensation package from all Fiesta Bowl-related entities was $592,418 for FYE 2009, nearly quadruple the CEO pay at comparably sized charities.
- The Sugar Bowl’s top three execs received $1,225,136 in FYE 2009 on revenue of $12.7 million, meaning that just three people skimmed almost $1 of every $10 the Bowl earned.
- BCS Bowls use charitable funds to fly Bowl execs and spouses first-class, pay private club dues, and foot the bill for employees’ personal income taxes. The Orange Bowl, for example, spent $756,546 on travel in FYE 2009 for its employees.
Look, nobody is expecting the above to donate their time free of charge. But, these guys are grossly abusing their organizations favorable tax status' and they are the direct beneficiaries of this fiscal misconduct. Now, we are getting to the bottom of the Bowl System/BCS vs. Playoff brew-ha-ha.
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