What canceling the season means financially

Program operated at significant loss in 2019, so how will season cancellation impact bottom line?

UConn made a bold move Wednesday, becoming the first Football Bowl Subdivision school to cancel its football season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The program, beginning its first year as an independent, made it clear that it was prioritizing the health and safety of its players and coaches — an understandable move, if not an admirable one.

But for an athletic department that lost a whopping $42 million in 2019, the decision also creates more questions. And no program took a bigger hit last year — both in terms of on-field performance and finances — than football. The Huskies, who went 2-10 and dropped to 6-30 the past three years, had $16.6 million in operating expenses and only $3.3 million in revenues in 2019.

By not playing this fall, the Huskies conceivably could save money in some areas. But how much? Let’s take a look.

GAME CONTRACTS

Four games on UConn’s schedule — at home against Maine and Indiana and on the road against Illinois and Ole Miss — had already been canceled because of scheduling cutbacks imposed by those teams’ leagues. Virginia and North Carolina were likely to be dropped for the same reason. Old Dominion, Liberty, San Jose State and Middle Tennessee State would’ve been complicated by travel restrictions on “hot spot” states, leaving the Huskies with just two viable games: UMass and Army at home.

All told, as shown below, the Huskies would have lost $380,500 from guaranteed payouts — not an outrageous sum in the big picture. It’s unclear how the cancellations will impact the contracts and the payouts. Athletic Director Dave Benedict said he will try to reschedule the games in the future.

UMass: Pays $150,000 At Illinois: Receives $200,000

At Virginia: Receives $400,000

Indiana: Pays $300,000 Old Dominion: Pays $200,000

Maine: Pays $280,500 At Ole Miss: (Ole Miss pays Middle Tennessee State)

Liberty: Pays $250,000 At North Carolina: Receives $200,000

At San Jose State: Receives $200,000

Middle Tennessee State: No payment Army: Pays $200,000 Payouts: $1,380,500 Paydays: $1,000,000 Total: $380,500 loss

RENTSCHLER FIELD

UConn paid $1,282,000 to use Rentschler Field last season and another $1,179,053 on game expenses, which includes security, officials and event staff. The school, however, did not collect revenue from parking or concessions.

But Rentschler will be empty this season, meaning UConn and Capital Region Development Authority, which manages the facility, will need to figure out how the money is divided. Michael Freimuth, executive director of CRDA, said the current contract didn’t account for what would happen in the event of a pandemic.

Benedict said UConn will address the lease with the CRDA, a quasi-public state entity. Rentschler is a stateowned facility, so UConn’s rent payment is really taxpayer money moving from one state entity to another. The football budget could be spared some of that expense and there will be no game-day expenses this fall, so the athletic department figures to eliminate some red ink from its ledger.

TRAVEL/RECRUITING

UConn spent $1,201,295 on travel last season, flying as far as Tulane (1,450 miles) and UCF (1,212 miles) for a pair of American Athletic Conference games. Obviously, with the schedule wiped out and nowhere to go, the Huskies won’t be spending any money on food, airfare or hotel accommodations in 2020.

With the NCAA extending its dead period through at least Aug. 31, Edsall and his staff might also save on recruiting — an expenditure of $499,866 in 2019. For now, coaches may communicate with recruits and transfers so long as it’s not done in person. Phone calls, texting, emailing, Zoom, etc. are all allowed.

COACHES’ SALARIES

Though Edsall’s 2019 base salary of $526,612 ranked among the bottom half of FBS head coaches, his contract was laden with all sorts of incentives. He had the opportunity to collect up to $34,000 extra each game, plus additional amounts for season-long goals — including $2,000 every time UConn scored first and another $2,000 if they led at halftime.

Meanwhile, his assistants took home $3,546,535 in base pay.

While those bonuses will be unattainable in 2020, his salary is protected by the AAUP and covered by its collective bargaining agreement.

The program has had no furloughs or layoffs of its support and administration staff. So the money associated with salary is expected to be the same this year, games or no games.

TV/RADIO DEAL

The Huskies’ new multiyear TV deal with CBS Sports will need to be reconfigured. Under the agreement, which was facilitated by Learfield IMG College, the school’s athletics multimedia rights holder, CBS Sports Network was scheduled to televise four home games this season and all home games through the 2023 season.

The school’s revenue from the media deal is unknown. But UConn, Learfield IMG College and CBS will need to address the loss of content.

TICKETS

Ticket sales continued to tumble last year, down from $2,420,733 in 2018 to $1,687,181 as the Huskies posted their ninth straight losing season. A school spokesperson said they’ll give “maximum flexibility” to season ticket holders, including the option for a refund.

Stephen Dunn / Associated Press UConn players take the field before a game against Temple at Rentschler Field.

Stephen Dunn / Associated Press Connecticut linebacker Eli Thomas (22) raises his arms to the crowd as his team enters the field for their 2018 season opener at Rentschler Field.