University of Missouri-Columbia Chancellor Brady Deaton says state funding cuts played a role in his decision to move the school from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference.
Deaton said Monday that his concern about instability and uncertainty of the Big 12 was enhanced because state funding for higher education has been cut several times in recent years, and still is not at the level originally budgeted in 2001.
Deaton made his comments while speaking to the annual Missouri-Kansas Associated Press Publishers and Editors Meeting.
He says the switch to the SEC was not all about money. But Deaton says the SEC offered a more stable and financially lucrative future, especially as the university tries to get its athletics department to be self-sufficient financially.
