Chip: Gophers' athletic budget concerns signal a complete restructuring of college sports

[BleedGopher]

per Chip:

Joel Maturi ran the Gophers athletic department for a decade. He encountered his share of financial challenges and turbulent moments but nothing that compares to the harsh realities caused by this pandemic. He can’t imagine being athletic director under current conditions.

“It’s one of the good reasons for being old,” he joked of retirement.

Like many, he’s concerned about the state of college athletics and the financial implications from lost revenue, especially if this crisis lasts long enough to impact the football season. That would be a significant problem because football keeps many departments afloat financially.

Maturi’s legacy as AD is that he championed Olympic, nonrevenue sports. He worries about the fate of those sports as departments everywhere — from Power Five conferences to Division III schools — deal with massive revenue loss.

“I don’t know any AD who wants to cut sports,” he said. “[But] you have to look at every option that’s available to you.”

COVID-19 will change the way college sports operate. That’s not debatable at this point. Just like with every industry and occupation in America. The only question is the degree to which change happens.

Gophers' athletic budget concerns signal a complete restructuring of college sports

The COVID-19 pandemic already has taken a bite out of sports revenue in universities across the country. If it lingers long enough to eradicate the football season, colleges will face difficult decisions.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Or maybe just temporarily renogotiate contracts, cut costs...don’t burn the house down. I suspect most of the coaches and administration will be more than willing to take a 1 year hit to keep the gravy train going.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

There is a big article on SI.com on this topic. Pat Forde talked to a number of AD's - some on the record and some did not want their names used.

Some were hopeful, others came off as flat-out scared.

Lot of charts and graphs showing how much the major D1 programs rely on FB to pay the bills for all the other programs. BTW, there was a chart in there ranking schools on their income from FB. 8 B1G teams were listed, all with FB income of $33-million or more. Gophers were not among them.

One AD said off the record that "if there is no FB season this fall, we are effed!"

If schools do not get their normal FB revenue, one prediction was that a lot of the non-revenue sports might get the ax. Current NCAA rules require 14 sports for D1 status. A lot of the big schools have over 20 sports.

 

[pk2]

There is a big article on SI.com on this topic. Pat Forde talked to a number of AD's - some on the record and some did not want their names used.

Some were hopeful, others came off as flat-out scared.

Lot of charts and graphs showing how much the major D1 programs rely on FB to pay the bills for all the other programs. BTW, there was a chart in there ranking schools on their income from FB. 8 B1G teams were listed, all with FB income of $33-million or more. Gophers were not among them.

One AD said off the record that "if there is no FB season this fall, we are effed!"

If schools do not get their normal FB revenue, one prediction was that a lot of the non-revenue sports might get the ax. Current NCAA rules require 14 sports for D1 status. A lot of the big schools have over 20 sports.

I think this is a link to the article you’re referring to. It’s a lengthy article, but worth the read.

'We’re All Effed. There’s No Other Way to Look at This'

SI asked two dozen administrators and insiders: What now for college football—and college sports as a whole?

www.si.com

 

[MplsGopher]

Or maybe just temporarily renogotiate contracts, cut costs...don’t burn the house down. I suspect most of the coaches and administration will be more than willing to take a 1 year hit to keep the gravy train going.

I could even see the following -- as a very extreme case:

have the NCAA allow schools to put any number of varsity sports on a one year hiatus. No money spent on the sport, period. No scholarships, no coaches pay, no support staff tied to that sport, nothing.

But it's just for one year, 2020-21. Not a permanent axe.

Then starting 2021-22, schools have to meet the regular minimum sports requirements, again.

 

[Lakeville Goldy]

I could even see the following -- as a very extreme case:

have the NCAA allow schools to put any number of varsity sports on a one year hiatus. No money spent on the sport, period. No scholarships, no coaches pay, no support staff tied to that sport, nothing.

But it's just for one year, 2020-21. Not a permanent axe.

Then starting 2021-22, schools have to meet the regular minimum sports requirements, again.

The problem is, what happens to all the kids who are relying on that scholarship? Not only for school, but room and board. I don't see that as an option.

That said, scholarships themselves are kind of funny money. The school is paying itself for tuition, food, etc. Many of those costs aren't legitimately additional costs. Professors are going to be there either way, etc. So while they say scholarships cost $XXX million per year, in reality they don't honestly cost the college that much. If you aren't traveling that saves a ton of money. Probably have to furlough all the support staff. Could eliminate the seasons without major costs and still keep the students on scholarship.

 

[MplsGopher]

Good point about scholarships. The sunk costs are sunk (profs, buildings, maintenance, IT, etc). The school could simply give all ("former") athletes tuition waivers, meaning they don't have to pay anything to be in school. The athletic dept then doesn't have to pay anything to the school, on behalf of the athletes.

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

That said, scholarships themselves are kind of funny money. The school is paying itself for tuition, food, etc. Many of those costs aren't legitimately additional costs. Professors are going to be there either way, etc. So while they say scholarships cost $XXX million per year, in reality they don't honestly cost the college that much.

This is more true at other schools than it is at the U. Our athletic department department pays the tuition of scholarship athletes from its budget. You can look at it as shifting money from one pocket to the other, but the money comes from the AD's budget and those funds are raised by the department. I suppose that they could make an agreement to suspend the tuition payment requirement for a year, but I wouldn't hold my breath since the University is already anticipating significant reductions in tuition receipts next year.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

I think this is a link to the article you’re referring to. It’s a lengthy article, but worth the read.

'We’re All Effed. There’s No Other Way to Look at This'

SI asked two dozen administrators and insiders: What now for college football—and college sports as a whole?

www.si.com

The kill shot (and the truth) below. I suspect most Power 5 schools can power through this on reserves (or loans if needed) and restructuring of numerous contracts.

I‘ve found it is never, ever wise to make far-reaching and long lasting decisions in the early stages of a crisis (or on a bender in Las Vegas). This sort of panicked talk from the ADs about cancelling the season, shutting down programs is a little ludicrous considering nobody is operating with solid information at the moment in terms of pandemic epidemiology data, and the national public health response has yet to be fleshed out. Everyone take a minute and do some deep breathing exercises.

The skeptic might ask why, after years of swimming in a surplus, did Power 5 schools not save cash? Some do have reserves, often buried within their privately run fundraising arms. But many operate with a goal of breaking even, pressured from the outside to “look poor,” says Andy Schwarz, an antitrust economist and cofounder of the Professional Collegiate League, an upstart he expects to rival NCAA basketball. “Broadly speaking, these guys aren’t allowed to carry over money here or there. There are exceptions, but most blow all of their money every year. They can say, ‘Look, we don’t have any money! We can’t pay the athletes!’ ”