2 weeks Ago
The University of Illinois athletics program set records in the last fiscal year for both revenue and expenses. The bottom line shows the program finished about $4.6 million in the black, but there’s more to the story.
Sports yielded more than $174 million in revenue — almost $25 million more than in fiscal year 2023 and $52 million more than five years ago. But expenses, driven primarily by coach salaries and payments and benefits paid to support staff, have risen almost as much. The athletic program spent $169.
47 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. For the most part, Division of Intercollegiate Athletics revenues were flat compared with the year before. Ticket sales were $19.
8 million versus $19.7 million the year before. Media-rights payments were down slightly to $50.
15 million from $50.67 million. NCAA and conference distributions were up a few million dollars.
The biggest change was in the line item called “contributions.” There, revenue increased from $35 million in fiscal 2023 to $57 million last year. Under NCAA financial reporting rules, contributions — from individuals, corporations, associations or foundations — are counted when they are used, not necessarily when they are received.
So the $22 million increase in contributions reported last year doesn’t necessarily mean the athletic department received that much more in donations in fiscal year 2024. In fact, nowhere in the NCAA’s Membership Financial Reporting System are university athletic programs required to report how much in cash, securities and real property is available for use. There are various DIA accounts available to be tapped at the University of Illinois Foundation, said athletic department spokesman Derrick Burson.
“Inevitably, those draws from foundation accounts represent a combination of monies, including those that are received in the year they are used and those that might have been received many years prior, along with those that are earmarked for specific uses and those that are truly unrestricted,” he said. “The amount of money DIA withdraws from the Foundation in a given year depends on many factors, including projects and initiatives underway that are tied to gifts earmarked for their support at the foundation. Contributions are also a critical part of DIA’s annual budgeting process, and there is an expectation each year for how much philanthropic support will be needed to cover DIA’s annual operating expenses.
” All of which is to say that the lack of full transparency in the NCAA reporting process makes it difficult to spell out precisely how healthy a particular university’s athletic program is, or how one compares with others. Unlike the UI, several Big Ten programs reported deficits for the fiscal year that ended in June. The Goliath of conference athletic departments, Ohio State, racked up a deficit of close to $38 million on spending of $292.
7 million and revenue of $254.9 million. Also losing money: Rutgers (about $42 million), UCLA ($30 million), Michigan State ($16.
7 million), Washington (about $9 million) and Minnesota (about $1.4 million). Not all athletic programs have publicly disclosed their financial statements.
Similar to the UI, some Big Ten programs reported modest numbers in the black: Nebraska, about $7 million; Purdue, $3.6 million, and Oregon, $2 million. A solid financial footing, particularly in fundraising, is going to become more important to athletic programs in the coming years.
Next year, for example, each Big Ten school is going to have to set aside an estimated $20 million for payouts to student athletes. And the UI’s program has also pledged to gradually phase out its use of student fees to help fund athletics. In the recently completed year, those fees yielded $3.
5 million from a fee of nearly $35 per student per semester. Ever-increasing coach salaries — $34.6 million in fiscal 2024 at the UI compared with $27.
3 million a year earlier and $21.5 million just five years ago — place added stress on finances. “DIA is fortunate to have an incredibly active, generous donor base, along with a dynamic, proven fundraising staff,” Burson said.
“Foundation resources are certainly not limitless, but our donors have proven time and again that they will step forward when called upon to fund this program’s progress. Our recent momentum and the success we are now enjoying are tied directly to our donors’ understanding of, and investment in, our coaches and student-athletes, and we are indebted to them for their support.” Other nuggets from Illinois’ recent report to the NCAA:.
