Sports drives conversation at WSSU

Dr. Donald J. Reaves: "Staying in Division II and returning to the CIAA is a real possibility for RAMS."

Winston-Salem State fans and alumni hoping for a vote of confidence from Chancellor Donald Reaves about the athletics program's move to Division I didn't get one Wednesday night. Reaves, speaking at a public forum, spelled out what WSSU needs to complete its transition to Division I and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

"It's not an expense problem," he said. "We are not having a problem in athletics because it's spending too much. That's simply not the case. If you look at the expenditures of the other MEAC schools, you will see we are not spending nearly as much as they are. "The problem at Winston-Salem State is a revenue-side problem. We simply don't raise enough revenue."

WSSU, in its fourth year of transition to Division I, has lost $6.1 million since starting the move, and charts that Reaves used Wednesday show more losses ahead. Reaves was loud and clear about the key point of his presentation -- WSSU needs to raise nearly $3 million more a year to help offset losses. WSSU currently brings in about $2.9 million a year in student fees for athletics, by far the biggest source of revenue.

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