Report: UA toward bottom when it comes to money, women's athletics
Two weeks ago, the UA athletic department was celebrating a renaissance of women's athletics after capturing an NCAA National Championship in softball.
Today, the Wildcats are facing hard facts.
Yesterday's issue of Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal revealed that the same athletic department that finished No. 8 in the Sears Cup Standings for the best overall institution uses just 24.7 percent of its budget on women's sports and graduates just over half its athletes.
Of the 114 teams polled for the Sears Cup, the Wildcats ranked No. 103 in terms of the percentage of money used on female sports. Arizona State, UA's in-state rival, ranked No. 95 in the same poll.
The Sears Cup standings, which are based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports, were released on June 1 with Stanford as the overall winner. UA finished eighth, six spots behind No. 2 UCLA.
Stanford - the Sears Cup winner - uses 27.2 percent of its budget on women's sports, good for a No. 78 ranking. Conversely, Florida - which finished fifth in the standings - uses just over 40 percent of its nearly $49 million operating budget on female athletes.
Finch passed over for national award
UA junior pitcher Jennie Finch - the Honda Award recipient for the best softball player in the country - lost out on her bid to capture the Broderick Cup for the nation's top female athlete Monday night in Salt Lake City.
Southwest Missouri State's Jackie Stiles, the leading scorer in NCAA history, took the prestigious award, which was given based on voting from more than 900 NCAA schools.
Stiles, who is averaging 13 points a game as a rookie point guard for the WNBA's Portland Fire, won out against 11 other candidates from 11 other sports.
"I am truly in a state of shock that you would honor me with such an award," Stiles told the assembled crowd.
Finch, who finished the season with a 32-0 record en route to an NCAA National Championship, was the first UA player to be nominated for the award.
Three Wildcats taken in CNNSI, ESPN mock draft
Despite their differences, two prominent sports media groups can agree on one thing: Richard Jefferson, Loren Woods and Gilbert Arenas will all be taken in the first round of this month's NBA Draft.
Where each player will end up is a different story altogether.
In a mock draft held Monday afternoon, ESPN.com's Andy Katz predicted that Woods, a 7-foot-1 center, would be taken with the No. 15 pick by the Orlando Magic. Katz also said that Jefferson, a 6-foot-7 forward, would be taken with the following pick by the Charlotte Hornets, and guard Gilbert Arenas would be taken with the No. 25 selection by the Sacramento Kings, a team that will likely battle to retain forward Chris Webber during the offseason.
"He can score and the Kings might need scorers depending on what happens with free agency," Katz said.
Stewart Mandel and Jennifer Cooper, CNNSI.com's draft experts, predicted Monday that Woods would go with the No. 9 overall pick to the Detroit Pistons, Jefferson would be taken 12th by the Seattle SuperSonics and Arenas taken No. 21 by the Boston Celtics.
The draft will take place on June 26th in New York City.
