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College Coaches' Use of Private Planes

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ChicagoBuckeye10's picture
February 20, 2017 at 1:20pm
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http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/18724734/many-universities-using-private-planes

An interesting read from ESPN discussing the common use of private jet transportation by college coaches - for both personal and professional reasons.  Cites OSU and Meyer frequently.

At Ohio State University, which leases one plane and partly owns another, football coach Urban Meyer and members of his family took 11 personal trips last school year, including a vacation in Florida, a weekend getaway to Cape Cod and a spring break in South Carolina. The university's cost: $120,000. Add Meyer's 15 recruiting trips in the same planes during that period, and the price tag jumps to more than $350,000.

Then there are operating expenses such as fuel and maintenance, which at Ohio State cost $1.6 million last school year.

And some schools, including Ohio State, say private donations and athletic revenue pay for flights.

Private flights have also become a perk used to draw coveted coaches. At the University of Oklahoma and at Ohio State, among many others, top coaches and their families are given yearly shares of flight hours that can be used for vacations and other personal trips.

Three coaches at Ohio State topped $220,000 in personal trips last school year, records show, with destinations including Las Vegas and Marco Island, Florida.

"It's where the market is now from a compensation standpoint," said Martin Jarmond, the executive associate athletic director at Ohio State. "Coaches have families, too. They've got ballgames they need to get back for. They have important things they need to do outside of the job."

Totally okay with it.  But unfortunate in cases where private jet travel expense is funded by tuition and tax dollars (e.g. Kansas/Tennessee - see article).  In my humble and invaluable opinion, money at those universities is better spent elsewhere.

Side topic for discussion:  Who's the OSU coach going to Las Vegas?

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