By Jordan Laster, Shelsea Duran, Guillermo Zacarias Breuer, Lily Coll, and Grant Farley
General Overview
To start our review of inequities in Duke college sports, we decided to look at the big picture, seeing the expenses allocated to different teams. For this, we decided to utilize publicly available data found in Duke’s 2020 Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA). Figure 1 in the appendix breaks down the total amount Duke Athletics spent on each college team in 2020. These include operating and recruiting expenses, among other things. Duke spent a total of $57,114,331 on men’s sports teams and a total of $25,472,405 on women’s sports teams. Out of all teams, men’s basketball and football received the largest share of the money. These teams receive $19.9 million and $25.2 million, respectively. Figure 2 presents this data as a treemap instead of a bar graph. This graphic clearly shows how much Duke spends on these two teams, with the sum of men’s basketball and football expenses being over half of Duke’s total spending on athletics.
Figure 3 then tries to break down these numbers by looking at total expenses by player. We thought it would be interesting to look at these numbers to account for some teams’ relative sizes, and found that, once again, men’s basketball and football were the best-funded teams. Duke Men’s Basketball is spending $1,329,949 per player. The second best-funded team is Duke Football, spending $217,047 per player, a significant drop from the previous number. We found that the worst-funded team was the Track & Field/Cross Country team, spending $14,335 per player on the men’s side of the team and $21,556 per player on the women’s side of the team. This might be influenced by the size of the TF/XC teams, which Duke reports to have a total of 218 participants (some of which might overlap between Track & Field and Cross Country).
We also wanted to analyze these expenses in light of revenues. Duke Football is the team with the highest total revenues, earning $39,669,829 in 2020. Much of this is likely to come from TV licensing rights. Unsurprisingly, basketball was the second-highest team in terms of revenue, making $33,382,946. Duke Women’s Basketball makes the third-highest revenue out of all teams, making $3,861,246, and the most out of any women’s team. Overall, 17 Duke athletic teams make over 1 million dollars in annual revenue. With this lens in mind, we decided to home in on certain teams to further analyze these inequalities.
Football
Inequities in Resources
A member of the football team pointed out the old-fashioned nature of their locker room and drew comparisons to other schools’ locker rooms in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He states, “it’s hard to compare [our locker room] to others in the ACC because we still have wooden lockers, they’re very old-fashioned, but if you look at other schools, like Florida State, LSU is known for their nice locker rooms, Alabama...I’m pretty sure we have the same type of locker room as Western Carolina and we’re a Power 5 school.” The football player seemed dissatisfied with the quality of their locker rooms, as well as the inability to practice in their facilities at all times. He expressed frustration at the fact that their indoor facilities could be used for other activities and sports and the inability to practice there if someone has the space scheduled. Without prompting, he drew comparisons to the basketball team’s facilities and said “you can’t go to the basketball practice gym and ever play basketball there.” In terms of swag, the athlete mentioned that they receive the most gear their freshman year. The gear is dependent on the season and weather, but usually they receive an array of shorts, sweatpants, shirts, and hoodies. However, the football team only provides them with 1-2 pairs of shoes ever, despite showcasing about 10. Most transportation to away and neutral-site games is through a chartered bus, though the interviewee mentioned flying private to at least 2 games during his Duke football career.
Inequities in Fanbases/Social Media/Alumni Support
The player described the fanbase to lack support from the overall student body, but he seemed hopeful that Coach Elko will turn things around and reinvigorate the fanbase through mutual support with other athletics teams and events such as the Blue vs. White Game. The player does not believe that the football team receives enough coverage on Duke’s general athletics social media pages, but he thinks the football-specific Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok pages cover enough ground.
Alumni are not extremely involved in football matters, in terms of donations, reunions, or game attendance; however, the player mentioned their great degree of involvement in the career development of current players. The football player interviewed mentioned how he will be interning at the company of a former Duke football player and how helpful the network has been in the internship-search process.
Inequities in Academic Support
The player described the academic support of the football team to be “overbearing.” Freshman members of the football team are required to meet at the DukeTower every day after practice, Mondays through Fridays for one hour, with their academic advisor. However, during his sophomore year, he meets with his academic advisor twice a week to review the week’s assignments. Initially, the interviewee wanted to pursue Economics, but he was told that Economics is extremely hard. His academic advisor then “helped [him] pick a major where it was something that [he] still wanted to do but via a different route.”
Inequities in Funding/NIL
Based on the Duke’s 2020 Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA), operating expenses per football player were reported to be $15,571 per player, with a total of $1.8 million for the entire team. These expenses include “all expenses [Duke] incurs attributable to home, away, and neutral-site intercollegiate athletic contests (commonly known as “game-day expenses”).” Total operating expenses for football were comparable with total operating expenses for the basketball team, despite having 101 more participants. Total expenses for the team, including student aid, equipment, and salaries, totaled $25,177,567, which accounted for 44.1% of all expenses for Duke Men’s sports teams. As mentioned above, football generated the greatest amount of revenue compared to all sports teams, totaling $39,669,829. No information was obtained about current NIL deals on the team.
Inequities in Time Commitments
The football team member estimated spending approximately 40 hours a week on his sport. He described his schedule as the following: “I go in early for treatment, then practice, and then at some point throughout the day I watch film...I go back to the facility to watch film with my coach, so a lot of hours.” Because so many hours are spent on football, he describes it as being hard to maintain a fruitful academic and social life outside of football.
Track & Field
Inequities in Resources
Similarly to other athletes interviewed, a member of Men’s Track & Field expressed discontent with their locker rooms. The Track athlete states: “We have one of the older locker rooms. It’s a pretty big room, but the lockers aren’t fancy, they’re the metal kind of lockers, and then we have a small couch area with the TV and showers.” He provided a detailed description of their swag. The Fall gear drop includes 3 shirts, a pair of running shorts, 2 pairs of running tights, a pair of training shoes, a pair of faster training shoes, a pair of spikes, a sweatshirt, and a pullover. He told us that he receives a new pair of shoes every 6 weeks.
Inequities in Fanbases/Social Media/Alumni Support
The interviewee highlighted differences in the fanbase even within the Men’s Track & Field team itself. He mentioned how Track has a larger fanbase because it is easier to watch compared to Cross Country. Nonetheless, the fanbase consists of primarily family and friends rather than random spectators from the Duke and Durham community. The interviewee mentioned how he feels that Track & Field receives a proportional share of posts on the general Duke Athletics pages, but they receive less coverage on the Chronicle. Last year, was the first time they had a photographer attend all meets and practices, but he has left. Having a photographer is essential to building the social media footprint and fanbase of the team. The interviewee mentioned that the Track & Field team likely receives fewer donations compared to other teams, but alumni are very involved in attending meets.
Inequities in Academic Support
The interviewee expressed contentment with academic support provided via tutors, study areas in the K-center, and mentor meetings. In concordance with the football athlete who was interviewed, he mentioned that his academic advisor encouraged him to take easier classes. Because he was an Economics major, taking the easiest Economics classes every semester was not always feasible, and therefore he had to backload and take many courses over the summer, specifically the math courses. The interviewee was unsure about the amount of people on full and partial scholarships, but he believes there to be 12.5 men’s scholarships and 18 women’s scholarships.
Inequities in Funding/NIL
Based on the Duke’s 2020 Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA), operating expenses per Men’s Track & Field athlete were reported to be $1,033 per participant, with a total of $113,613 for the men’s team. The expenses for the women’s athletes were reported to be slightly lower at $853 per participant, with $92,142 for the women’s team. Total operating expenses for T&F were substantially lower compared to other teams due to the lack of equipment necessary for the sport. Total operating expenses were $205,755, which is 3.6% of operating expenses across all teams. Total expenses for the team were $3.9 million, and there is a noticeable gap between total expenses for the men and women. Total expenses for the women’s team were $751,167 greater than the men’s team. The T&F team generated $3.67 million in revenue, but the women’s team accounted for 66% of this figure. Information on NIL deals was not obtained.
Inequities in Time Commitments
The interviewee described his time commitment to be hefty. The T&F team has mandatory running practices 5 times a week, lifts 2 days a week, and optional Sunday practice. Wednesdays are heavy class days. Unlike other teams, it was interesting that T&F has optional practices; this may be because track is an individual sport rather than a team sport.
Lacrosse
Inequities in Resources
The Men’s Lacrosse player described the locker room to be relatively adequate. Despite the locker room being rather new, the player described it to be “modern-looking, yet lacking the TVs, PS4s, and lounge areas other locker rooms have.” The interviewee mentioned that the locker room is a bit cramped, causing some teammates to share lockers. Because they spend a great deal of time in the locker room, the interviewee wishes that it had more square footage and amenities to make it feel like a “home,” rather than a room full of lockers. In the Fall, players receive 3 or 4 shooting shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt, a set of lifting gear (1 shirt and 1 pair of shorts), jockstraps, cups, 1 pair of turf shoes, 1 pair of sneakers, and 1 pair of cleats. Men’s Lacrosse players can ask equipment managers for more gear, and another interviewee mentioned there can be some favoritism amongst starters from equipment managers. “It can be like pulling teeth,” he said, referring to requesting new equipment. Every year, they receive 1 nice sweatshirt, 1 cutoff sweatshirt you could lift in, some pairs of sweatpants, 2 or 3 helmets, mouth guards, shoulder pads, gloves, and stick orders. In the spring, players receive travel outfits, custom Air Force 1s, a zip-up polo, travel sweatpants, a hat, and a beanie. For transportation, the team usually uses a charter bus, but they have flown commercial a few times and have traveled on a chartered plane once or twice.
Inequities in Fanbases/Social Media/Alumni Support
The interviewee felt very supported by Duke in general, but he mentioned how the team’s reputation in the greater Duke and Durham community has been tarnished by controversies. The interviewee did not go into further detail about this matter. Overall, the interviewee felt that the team receives enough recognition given the niche nature of the sport and the fact that it’s not a revenue-generating sport. The alumni players are very involved, especially recent graduates.The men’s lacrosse player mentioned raising hundreds of thousands of dollars during their Day of Giving Challenge. Another Men’s Lacrosse player discussed their social media presence as positive, stating that their media team is well funded and focuses on players equally based on playing time.
Inequities in Academic Support
The Men’s Lacrosse player recalled meeting with his academic advisor once a week during his freshman year and spending 5 hours a week at the K-center. Unlike the football team, after freshman year, there is no obligation to meet with your academic advisor. Interestingly, he said, “my academic advisor didn’t steer me one way or another; in fact, there’s 3 engineers and 1 pre-med player who miss practice time, but it’s not a huge deal.” The Men’s Lacrosse team has a total of 12.6 scholarships, which can be divided differently. Some players receive a full scholarship, others 20% scholarships, and others none.
Inequities in Funding/NIL
The interviewee mentioned team-wide NIL deals, some of which are city-based and others are community-based deals. Two individuals hold prestigious NIL deals with Lacrosse Unlimited and STX, and they receive money for Instagram posts and for wearing the company’s gear. Most people on the Men’s Lacrosse team have some sort of NIL deal, according to our interviewee.
Inequities in Time Commitments
The time commitment for Men’s Lacrosse is hefty. During the season, players watch film from 3:00-3:20 PM, practice from 3:30-6:00 PM, and end up leaving the locker room by 6:45 PM. If a player receives treatment, 45 minutes are added to the beginning and end of practice. Players are required to lift twice a week but can go on any of the practice days. On Gameday, players have a team meeting, team meal, and then undergo their routine. Off-days are the days after their games.
Basketball
Inequities in Resources
According to the interviewee, there are significant disparities in the resources provided between Duke’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. From the transportation they use to the amount of merchandise they are provided, it all disproportionately favors the men’s team. For example, the interviewee claimed that the women’s basketball team receives new basketball shoes once a month at the most. The men’s team, however, are given “two to three new pairs of shoes every two weeks.” They are also given way more clothing merchandise throughout the year. As for transportation, the men fly charter planes almost everywhere they go. While the women also fly charter planes at times, they fly much less frequently than the men (instead they often have to ride buses to their games). To our surprise, their respective locker rooms were also preferential to the men despite being housed in the same facility. According to our interviewee, the men’s locker room was much nicer than the women’s. For example, the men’s room has access to several massage chairs, while the women’s locker room does not. In comparison to other sports teams, the basketball program as a whole is given disproportionately more resources. For example, both basketball teams have access to an exclusive weight room, while all of the other teams at Duke are left to share a single weight room.
Inequities in Fanbases
As for fanbases, the interviewee acknowledges that that of the men’s basketball team eclipses that of the women’s basketball team. While the women’s team Instagram page has just over 62,000 followers, the men’s team page has 1.3 million. While Cameron Indoor Stadium often packs fans like sardines during men’s games, during women’s games, there are “barely any fans in the stands.” When asked why, the interviewee lightheartedly conceded, “because [the women’s basketball team] doesn’t dunk...” The interviewee went on to say that, unfortunately, people don’t really find women’s basketball games as entertaining as men’s games. They also claimed that a major part of the discrepancy is the fact that the men’s team wins more games.
Inequities in Academic Support/Scholarships
Regarding academic support, the interviewee claimed to feel very supported. They said, “I could call someone right now, and they would answer and help with whatever I needed.” But the interviewee admitted that such support is not provided to most sports teams outside of the basketball department. Regarding financial support, the interviewee said that, compared to other sports teams at Duke, the players on both basketball teams are very well taken care of. For example, every basketball player at Duke has a full scholarship (except maybe walk-ons) and receives a living stipend. They again acknowledged that this is a privilege that is not granted to many athletes at Duke. For example, many track and field athletes only receive a scholarship that covers half of their tuition.
Inequities in Time Commitments
Surprisingly, the interviewee stated that the women’s basketball actually has more of a time commitment than the men’s team. According to them, team practices for the women average around three hours a day, while the men’s team practices average around 1.5 hours.
*Note: Throughout the interview, the interviewee acknowledged that they found many of these inequities to be understandable given that the men’s basketball team is more successful than the women’s team.
Appendix
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
