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Jon Jaques is a senior at Cornell University, where he plays basketball for the Big Red. He has spent the last two seasons writing about his experiences for The Quad, a college sports blog at www.nytimes.com, and is currently interning at Athletic Management.

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Considering our country's current economic struggles, it makes sense for all individuals and businesses to cut back on superfluous spending. This includes college athletic athletic programs. Today's administrators face the unenviable task of balancing the pressures of funding a competitive athletic department while simultaneously attempting to find ways to save money. Usually the perks and amenities that make athletes most happy and draw the most attention from recruits are the most expensive ones, which makes the job of an athletic director even tougher.

As a current student-athlete, I can appreciate the tough decisions administrators face when choosing which resources to cut back on. But at the same time, there are certain amenities that an athletic department, and more specifically student-athletes, can't do without. So here's a list of the amenities I've found are essential from a student-athlete's perspective, and a couple of areas I think are okay to cut from.

Don't cut spending on ...
• Locker Rooms: The locker room is basically the student-athlete's sanctuary, their home away from home. You spend nearly as much time in there as you do on the court or field, and my teammates and I really appreciate having a comfortable place to go and relax any time, whether it's right after a hard practice or in between classes for naps and general relaxation. However, administrators don't have to go overboard with locker room amenities. HD TVs, luxurious reclining chairs, pool tables, and the other bells and whistles found in the locker rooms of big-time programs are nice, but are often unnecessary and overly expensive. Instead, simple perks like clean wooden lockers with nameplates, a couch or two to unwind on, and a fridge to keep sports drinks or water cold are enough to make the space feel more like home and less like the ratty old high school locker rooms everyone grew up using.

Without breaking the bank, you can also add personal, team oriented decorations to the locker room that increase the room's décor and the school's attraction to recruits. For example, at Cornell, where our nickname is the Big Red, a small touch that makes a big difference is the red carpet in the locker room. The carpet combined with photos of current and former players and great moments in team history that adorn the walls help build team spirit. Adding a sign with a coach's motto or favorite quote is also a nice way to decorate the room and build team chemistry. These are all ways to design a locker room your players will love without burning a hole in the athletic department's wallet. Too much time is spent on the court or in the weight room to not give your players a place to unwind and relax.

• Athletic equipment: It sounds simple enough, but I don't think athletic departments should sacrifice the equipment their teams need to succeed in order to save some money.

As an athlete, all you can ask is for your athletic department to provide you with the resources necessary to perform--the rest is up to you. I'm not just talking about the basic necessities for a sport (obviously balls and hoops will be provided for basketball), I'm talking about extra resources that might make the difference between a championship season and finishing in second place.

For example, at Cornell we have a shooting machine called "The Gun" that rebounds shots and spits the ball back out to the shooter, allowing a player to come in to the gym on his own time and get shots up. This equipment, while undoubtedly expensive, is an invaluable resource since nearly every member of the team uses it and has improved because of it. Whether it's "The Gun" or a hitting cage for baseball, if you ask a player, these practice tools are far from expendable.

• Marketing/Advertising for Games: This might seem like an easy way to cut costs. People will come to the games anyway, right? Why not save some money by not making any commercials or putting as many ads in the paper? This approach might save a little money short term, but it does not benefit the student-athelte experience. As a college athlete, there is nothing more exciting than running out onto the court when there is a capacity crowd and playing all out in front of thousands of people.

I've experienced the highs and lows of attendance fluctuations first hand. A deafening crowd makes you feel like someone injected a shot of caffeine straight into your bloodstream--you have the energy to do anything and perform at your peak level. When no one is in the gym, it's hard to not feel a little less excited about the game, and more often than not, that carries over to the team's performance on the court. The crazy crowds we've been drawing lately to Cornell basketball games are due in large part to the success of the team, but also our athletic department's efforts to advertise in campus and local media. Cutbacks in advertising, especially for smaller schools that rely on local media exposure to get the word out about the school's teams, would be devastating, not only to the players, but also to the school's ability to generate revenue from attendance in the long-run.

It's ok to cut spending on ...
• Plane Travel: While I understand that certain road trips are way too long and inconvenient for teams to take a bus, I would try to cut costs by avoiding air travel to away games. While it may seem faster to fly, in my experience, it is not only more expensive to fly an entire team around the country, but it is a huge hassle and there are nearly always delays. It is more affordable and more convenient to have a bus ready whenever you need it on a road trip.

At Cornell we only fly to a couple of non-conference away games per year and spend a lot of the time traveling by bus. It may surprise athletic administrators to know that those long bus rides are some of the most fun I've had during college, just hanging out, watching movies, or cracking jokes with my best friends. In many ways I prefer road trips because of the time spent bonding with teammates.

• Extra Gear, Clothing: I'll be the first to admit that I really like the perks of being a college basketball player. For one, we get more "gear," as we to call it, than we could possibly wear. I probably have more Cornell basketball t-shirts and sweatshirts than I do any other type of clothing in my closet. And I'm not even at a big time, major conference basketball program that probably gives out free shirts and shoes daily. As great as getting free clothing is, it is probably unnecessary and a good place to start looking for areas to cut back on spending. While it may be free to us players, someone, namely the athletic department, has to pay for it. While players might be upset at first, I'm sure they will understand that it just doesn't make sense to give each player on the team six shirts that look exactly the same.

I know there are other resources and amenities that I'm not even aware of that are candidates for athletic department cutbacks. I'm also sure the process of where to save money is much more complex than what I made it out to be, but this list provides an inside look at where one student-athlete sees value.

FEEDBACK

Jon,
You are very wise young man. It's too bad most Athletics departments don't follow some common sense in making their cuts. If they would spend a little time doing their homework on what is needed or not needed they might see the big picture. Keep up the good work..you will go far.
PS. Sounds like a future A.D.

Delano I.Tucker,Ed.D
Chairman,Professor
Norfolk State University
Department of HPEEX