By Ned Seaton
K-State Athletics Director Gene Taylor says he and his colleagues at KU and Wichita State plan to ask the state government for help, in an era where colleges are obligated to come up with millions to pay athletes.
Taylor, in interviews with The Mercury conducted over the past month, said that big-time college athletics “bring a lot of economic value to this state,” but the burden of having to pay athletes $20 million a year – escalating to $30 million over the next decade – means that K-State and the other two would be able to be more competitive with state help of some kind.
“You don’t want us to see us not be successful, because then your tax dollars are going to go down if… our football and our basketball aren’t continuing to win, and these stadiums aren’t going to be filled and the dollars that flow into our state and our communities are going to go down,” he said. “And guess what? More and more states are funding NIL or funding the rev share dollars.”
