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http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100823/SPORTS/8230306/1018

Like Oregon and Oregon State, Portland State is an NCAA Division I school, but as a Football Championship Subdivision member, the Vikings lead a very different existence from the big schools in the state.

For more: See Oregon, Oregon State and Portland State finances for the past five years in an interactive chart exploring the revenues and expenses for each program.

In 2009, PSU had athletic department expenses of around $10.3 million, one-sixth of what Oregon spent.

Although the Ducks and Beavers saw their budgets go up about 50 percent in the past five years, the Vikings' increase was 28 percent, in line with the increase in total university spending.

"Our primary funding goal is to keep pace with increasing costs in scholarships and student support - which has been a challenge due to increasing tuition and housing expenses," athletic director Torre Chisholm said.

"As long as we fund these areas, PSU will always have a chance to be competitive in our conference."

That 28 percent figure is a little misleading as the budget has risen only $500,000 since 2006 as the school has dealt with the same economic pressures as the rest of the country.

"It has been very difficult - last year especially," Chisholm said. "It hasn't changed our goals that much, because all of our competitors are dealing with similar issues.

"Last year was a very successful one for us, with four conference championships, despite the funding challenges."

In many ways, the Vikings are the average FCS (formerly Division I-AA) school in terms of finances.

Their total expenses match the median value for all FCS schools and ticket sales, and their $3.2 million of university funding for athletics is $600,000 below the median.

FCS schools are allowed 63 scholarships for football compared with 85 for top-level schools. Portland State received $425,877 in ticket sales in 2008-09. Oregon had $17.1 million and Oregon State had $10.1 million.

"I'm pleased with the level of support that we receive at PSU," Chisholm said.

"Athletics is an integral part of most universities and supports the academic enterprise through the development of student-athletes and by creating commonality and engagement within the campus community."


Read more: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100823/SPORTS/8230306/1018#ixz...