It's important to note that this isn't a budget issue. The CS dept was cut by $1.7M, but the athletic department had their funding raised by $2M (total athletic budget is $99M).
Interestingly, the state government seems very supportive of STEM and has thrown $49M at the creation of Florida Polytechnic University. It seems it's merely the university administration that wants to cut it.
The athletic department's budget comes out of the athletic department's revenue. This is very much a budget issue. The reason why UF needs to cut this money is precisely because of this creation of a new University. Even less state funding is now being divided among even more universities.
It's one pool of money under the control of the university. What prevents UF from funneling some of the athletic dept's revenue to subsidize the rest of the university?
I realize that the university might be motivated to implement budget cuts in ways that harm voters (in order to make voters angry about it), but it's hardly clear that UF doesn't have $1.7M worth of waste. Nor is it clear that the $2M increase in the athletic budget will result in a > $2M increase in revenue.
This argument rings hollow at every university where I've encountered it. Universities are educational institutions and athletics are great but if they produce surplus it has an obligation to fund academic activities first and foremost. Phrased for people who react emotionally to this argument: educational institutions ought to increase their brand licensing fees to their for-profit football team subsidiaries.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2012/04/22/univer...
Interestingly, the state government seems very supportive of STEM and has thrown $49M at the creation of Florida Polytechnic University. It seems it's merely the university administration that wants to cut it.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/scott-approves-state...