Auditors from the NCAA compliance division were on Missouri Southern’s campus this week investigating the Lion’s athletic program. These occasional evaluations of certain components of the institution’s athletics department’s compliance with the NCAA occur at all member schools on a random basis. One of the things the auditors will look at are the athletic programs revenues and expenses which equaled $6,118,755 in 2014.

According to the NCAA Division II Compliance Audit Guide, the purpose of the compliance audit is multi-faceted. The audit is meant to advise institutional decision makers whether the compliance program is functioning properly, identify policies and procedures that may leave an institution vulnerable to possible inadvertent violations, and assist institutional decision makers in recommending corrective measures to enhance compliance efforts.

“It’s not unusual to have them here,” said University President Alan Marble. “The University just came through some tough financial times and were just getting our head back above water. I’m very pleased with where we’ve gotten our revenue up to in the last couple of years. We’ve had new streams of revenue from licensing that we didn’t have in the past, so overall I think our athletic program is doing an excellent job.”

Auditors look for general ledger reconciliation including revenues and expenses, internal controls related to intercollegiate athletics, and potential trouble spots in performing the NCAA Agreed-Upon Procedures.

All co-educational postsecondary institutions that receive Title IV funding are required by the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) to annually submit athletic data. Some of the information disclosed in that data will be the same information NCAA auditors examined this week.

Part of that data shows that the total number of male athletes at Missouri Southern in 2014 was 223, compared to only 126 female athletes.

“We’re still working towards Title IV balance entirely,” said Marble. “There’s been some talk about women’s sports that might come back in the future so we’ll see about that.”

The same data shows that average annual institutional salary per head coach is $55,943 for men’s teams and $49,116 for women’s teams. The gap gets bigger when you look at the average annual institutional salary per full-time employee for men’s teams at $71,538, compared to $53,503 for women’s teams.

“It depends on the sport, different sports pay different salaries whatever the gender may be,” said Jared Bruggeman director of athletics. “It’s based on the market, not on their gender.”

According to the NCAA, the average Division II men’s basketball coach made $6,268.47 more than women’s basketball coaches in 2014.

“Is it equal? Probably not. Is it going to be about average for the nation? Perhaps,” said Marble. “These are some of the things the audit will look at. Is this out of the ordinary, are any of these things out of the ordinary compared to the rest of nation? Now, is it fair? What’s fair compensation? That’s an argument people have had for years.”