The seat President Manuel Pacheco sits in tomorrow might get a little warm when he answers "hard questions" about athletic funding during budget hearings in Phoenix.

The Tucson Weekly reported last week that Sen. Larry Chesley, R-Gilbert, said he plans to ask Pacheco why taxpayers are partially subsidizing UA's Intercollegiate Athletics Department.

Chesley serves as the chair of the appropriations subcommittee considering all three Arizona university budgets.

Sharon Kha, head of Institutional Advancement and assistant to the president, said Pacheco is in Phoenix and was unavailable for comment. Greg Fahey, the UA's vice president for state relations, is also in Phoenix and could not be reached.

Kha said she had heard that Chesley might address ICA's funding at the subcommittee hearing.

Repeated phone calls to Chesley's office were not returned.

Jim Livengood, director of the Intercollegiate Athletics Department, said he had not heard whether Chesley's subcommittee would scrutinize funding for ICA .

"I think funding always comes into question," Livengood said.

The Weekly reported that ICA receives $1.4 million in state funding on top of the nearly $20 million it produces in revenue per year.

Livengood said people do not realize that ICA pays back $1.2 million to the university in the form of a service charge to help cover overhead expenses as required by all departments at the UA.

State Rep. George Cunningham, D-Tucson, formerly vice president for administrative services at the UA, said people ought to think about the ramifications of changing or removing funding from ICA.

"If Sen. Chesley's intent is to take away that $1.4 million that is currently allotted to ICA and give it to another institution, then that would be unacceptable," Cunningham said.

"If he takes it with the intent to go give it to another university program, then that, too, would be unacceptable."

Cunningham said non-income-producing sports would suffer no matter what decision is made concerning the funding ICA receives from the state.

The UA men's football and basketball teams are the only two teams that show a margin of profit, he said. If ICA is targeted, the remaining teams would suffer, Cunningham said.

"If you take that $1.4 million, you shut some of those programs down," Cunningham said.

Livengood said state funding to ICA allows his department to "do more" for students. If there is a change, he said ICA does have other options to look at for increasing revenue.

Cutting funding would decrease students' involvement through an increase in student ticket and souvenir prices, he said.

"We want to involve more students, not less."

Livengood reiterated that ICA has taken hits in recent years and that his department is always looking at ways to trim its budget.