What sports enthusiast wasn't on the edge of their seat watching Michael Phelps keep his dream of eight gold medals alive as he outreached Milorad Cavic by one one-hundredth of a second? And how amazing was it to see Dara Torres, at 41, out swim competitors half her age to take home a pair of silver medals? But just how could they afford to take such huge chances on becoming Olympians against all odds?

Sure, these summer stars will snag hefty endorsement deals, book contracts, and that coveted Wheaties box. But before the golden parachute takes root, there are bills to pay - including that hefty plane ticket to China and Phelph's 10,000 daily calories!

Behind each U.S. Olympic athlete is the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) - the sports organization dedicated to helping "America's athletes to realize their Olympic and Paralympic dreams." Passed in 1978, the Amateur Sports Act named the USOC as this country's coordinating body for all things Olympic. Today, they are responsible for "training, entering and underwriting the full expenses for the U.S. teams in the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games."

The act also gave the USOC authority over, and guidelines for recognizing, National Governing Bodies (NGBs) for the sports on the Olympic programs. Each NGB governs a specific sport, helping to raise money for training programs, coaching, training facilities, travel expenses and operating costs.

Although the USOC is responsible for overseeing the country's Olympic effort, the organization does not receive continuous federal government funding. Funding comes mainly from the U.S. Olympic Foundation, corporate and individual contributions, and Olympic marketing programs.

Jim Scherr, Chief Executive Officer of the USOC, recently told the Sports Business Journal that most people don't understand how funding for the organization works.

"There's still some perception in the public that we either receive government (funding) - we don't - or that sponsors pay for the funding of our Olympic team and they don't have to contribute to it. It's a matter of getting our message out there," Scherr said. "While we're not crying poverty in terms of our funding compared to other Olympic committees around the world, we're probably not in the top 10...."

For many young athletes under 18, costs for training can be extremely expensive and the bills are usually paid for by the athletes themselves. When they make a national team, the athletes do receive some funding from the USOC and NGBs. But, more often than not, talented athletes continue training at universities, where they have the opportunity to receive scholarships.

Many companies like AT&T, Home Depot and General Motors also contribute to funding in exchange for rights to use Olympic symbols in advertising. And the USOC's own marketing campaigns bring in money from people buying anything featuring Olympic logos.

About seven percent of current revenue is generated from private donor fundraising, said Scherr. He'd like to see that number somewhere between 10 and 15 percent.

"Obviously our brand is incredibly strong and we're pleased with that. We'd like to see private-donor fundraising a little higher," said Scherr. "In the past, it wasn't as strong as it should have been because we weren't as organized to do it as we should have been. We had some dislocation and change with the government reform process that slowed it down."

The USOC underwent a major transition in 2003, which saw a reduction in both the number of Board of Directors from 125 to 11 and the number of standing committees from 23 to four. Currently, the organization is headed by the 11 Board of Directors, four committees, a liaison to the US Olympics Committee, Scherr, who serves as the CEO, and his staff, which was cut from 600 employees to 284.

Scherr is very confident with the direction his organization has taken in the last few years and has been credited with bring stability to USOC. As far as 2008 goes, he has very specific goals for Beijing.

"First is that the entire delegation goes safely, stays safely and comes home safely," Scherr said. "Second is that the experience for team members is a positive experience because most athletes have only one chance to go to the Games, so we want this to be the experience of a lifetime. Third is that our team represents the United States with honor, pride and dignity. Part of that is that it's a clean team with no major incidents and that they represent the positive aspects of this country. Fourth, we'd like to maximize the medal opportunities that exist. ... We also want to meet the needs of our sponsors and their hospitality programs, we service media internationally and from the U.S. so that the stories of athletes can be told around the world, that donors have a positive experience, and that we interface with NBC and support their broadcasts."

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