A look behind UConn’s athletic department finances
It has been a decade-long decline, sparked by the shift in college athletics and accelerated by UConn’s inability to land in a lucrative Power Five conference.
As expenses in big time college sports rose, revenue failed to keep pace and UConn found itself subsidizing sports. One year after another.
The result is a perennial shortfall, usually in the $40 million range. The latest financial report filed with the NCAA shows a $43.5 million revenue gap, bandaged through direct institutional support and student fees.
With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down fall sports and stifling revenue streams, next year’s financial ledger could look worse.
What does it all mean? A look behind the numbers:
THE IMPACT OF COVID
The pandemic hit sports in March, just as winter postseason tournaments were starting. For the UConn basketball teams, there was a significant loss associated with the cancellation of both the American Athletic Conference men’s tournament and both NCAA Tournaments.
In 2019, the programs combined for more than $700,000 in revenue from NCAA payouts. With no tournament last spring, UConn received no revenue from the NCAA.
The men’s program saw a significant loss associated with the cancellation of the AAC tournament. The program received $1.6 million from the conference in 2019, but the revenue fell to just under $500,000 last year.
But the pandemic may have led to a cut in overall recruiting expenses. The department reported $1.8 million in recruiting expense in 2018-19 fiscal year, but that number fell to $1.4 million in the latest report.
Football ($339,340 in 2019-20, $499,866 in 2018-19) and men’s basketball ($369,445, $507,928) saw the sharpest changes.
Other factors could contribute to the reduction — the location of prime recruits can change from year to year — but reduction in the expense is noteworthy.
FILLING THE GAP
In recent years, UConn has been among the Division I leaders in using direct school support to balance its athletic budget.
The direct institutional
support was $37 million last year, up from $33.5 million the year before. The figure has been over $30 million the past four years.
Student fees accounted for $6.5 million, the lowest in 13 years. The school used $8.8 million in student fees for the 2018-19 budget and has been perennially over $8 million for more than a decade.
In 2015, UConn used $10.2 million in student fees to close the gap. The last time the school used under $7 million in student fees was 2007 ($6.8 million).
NO FALL FOOTBALL — WHAT WE COULD SEE NEXT YEAR
The report covers the fiscal year ending in July 2020. So the fall COVID cancellations were not part of this snapshot.
UConn canceled its football season, so there would be a savings on travel and game day expense. The football program spent $929,215 in 2019 and $1.2 million in 2018 on travel, so figure a savings in the range of $1 million. Game day expenses at Rentschler Field ran the school $1.4 million in 2019 and $1.2 million in 2018.
Overall, that’s a savings of more than $2 million in expenses. There is also a $1 million fee to use Rentschler Field and other expenses — food, equipment — may have been reduced without games.
But the bulk of the program’s expense are static: over $5 million in coaches’ salaries and $4.6 million on the books for scholarships in 2019.
The football support staff carried an $810,000 expense in 2019 and over $900,000 the year before.
UConn, in its first year as an independent program, was also slated to pay $1.38 million in guarantee payouts for games. The school would have received $1
million, so the cancellation saved UConn $380,500.
The overall football budget was over $17 million in 2019, with the program generating $2.3 million.
BIG EAST, DONATIONS, AND MORE
The latest financial picture comes as UConn athletics is in a state of flux. Not only did the pandemic alter the last few minutes of the fiscal year, but UConn shifted from the AAC to the Big East last summer — leaving its football program as an independent while igniting fan interest in basketball.
Through the school’s fundraising arm, UConn athletics reported last summer $26.4 million in athletic donations. That money is not reflected in the latest report, but the pledges for a year — the second highest ever recorded by the department — will offset costs in the future.
The move to the Big East has been framed by the school as a potential windfall, with the boost in donations an example of renewed enthusiasm for the department. More support for the theory: UConn saw an increase in revenue from ticket sales for men’s ($1 million year-over-year) and women’s ($400,000) basketball.
The move to the the more geographically-sensible Big East should also result in lower travel costs. The department spent $6 million on travel in 2019-20, including $1.6 million for men’s basketball and $1.1 million for women’s basketball. With more conference contests within driving distance for all sports, the school figures to save money on travel.
UConn is on the hook to pay a $17 million exit fee to the AAC, due by 2026.