Nine of the 16 NIU sports teams get additional travel money to go on “special trips,” which account for an extra $35,000 in the budget.

These special trips include the winter team’s voyages and the spring break trips. Teams can only take in-season trips. For example, the wrestling team competes in winter, so it takes a Christmas trip.

One notable trip involves the NIU women’s tennis team. Coach Patty Groth’s group journeys to Hawaii over the spring break.

The budget allots $4,000 for the tennis team to go “aloha” in the warm state, while the squad funds the remainder of the trip through its own fund-raisers.

“We worked at all of the NIU women’s basketball games,” Groth noted. “So it’s kind of like we earn the trip.”

Groth said that Hawaii isn’t the only place to go, but it is important for the team to travel to a warm state to practice.

“It isn’t necessary,” Groth said. “But, we go there because they (the University of Hawaii) actually give us money to come, since nobody really goes out there that much.”

Groth also pointed out that such trips definitely enhance the recruiting possibilities.

“Oh gosh, yes,” Groth said. “That is a major factor. Even though we don’t plan on going there next year, we will still use the fact that we went to Hawaii for a few years.”

The women’s tennis team is planning to go to Texas for the break next year.

The ironic part of the story is that the bigger sports, like football and basketball, generate the most revenue for the budget.

In the fiscal year 1991 projections, $2,554,761 is the total projected income. A total of $250,000 comes from football gate receipts and $60,000 from basketball gate receipts. The rest of the income comes from NIU athletic fees ($1,936,500), tuition waivers ($257,911), parking ($6,000), programs ($8,000), television income ($31,350) and miscellaneous ($5,000).