Writer that interviewed UofL's president says don't place your bets on UofL

[Rumrunner]

Good article:

"I think we may be coming back to those comments if the ACC makes a move in the near future that is not in U of L's favor."
...

"If I had to place a bet, I'd be hard-pressed to lay money on U of L being taken by the ACC in this round of realignment, despite all the positive media treatment of the chance today. The combination of academic and TV market factors, despite everything else U of L has going for it, still makes it tough for me to see, and I've heard nothing to change that hunch, even with U of L shoring up what support it has in every conference."

http://www.wdrb.com/story/20153948/...he-day-in-realignment-and-where-u-of-l-stands

 

[huskymedic]

Consistent theme - different source.

http://www.courier-journal.com/arti...rce=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&nclick_check=1

 

[Rumrunner]

Well, we know that Louisville's political hacks are getting in the act. From medic's article:



U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a U of L graduate, said the university should find an appropriate landing spot. He was unsuccessful last year in an attempt to get U of L into the Big 12.

“U of L is the only school in the country with an athletic budget in the top 20 that is not in a power conference,” McConnell said. Athletic director “Tom Jurich has built it, and they should come.”

 

[TRest]

Well, we know that Louisville's political hacks are getting in the act. From medic's article:



U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a U of L graduate, said the university should find an appropriate landing spot. He was unsuccessful last year in an attempt to get U of L into the Big 12.

“U of L is the only school in the country with an athletic budget in the top 20 that is not in a power conference,” McConnell said. Athletic director “Tom Jurich has built it, and they should come.”

Since the real power conferences don't consider the ACC being included, UL should turn its sights to the B12. BYU and UL make a world of sense there.

 

[upstater]

I just looked at Louisville's revenues.

In 2010, they were the same as UConn's. Both schools also pumped in $9 million from the academic side (i.e. student fees and direct support). On that basis alone, McConnell is comparing apples to oranges.

In 2011, Louisville experienced a huge jump in revenues, 26 million more, or about 40% higher (sorry, I didn't do the math). That makes me suspicious immediately, especially as this was done with the B12 fight with WV in the backdrop.

That money came primarily from 2 sources: They went from 18 to 26 million in ticket sales, an 8 million bump. Whereas they averaged 13-17 in all the prior years. Before you say this was about people coming back to football games, I checked the Petrino years, and ticket sales were the same as the previous averages. Contributions went from 13m to 28m. Historically they were always between 11m to 13m. Suddenly they jumped by more than 100%. In one year.

All of UConn's numbers have remained steady over the years. Always around 10-12m in ticket sales. Always around 10-12m in contributions as well. Louisville passes UConn in both metrics. Where does UConn excel primarily?

Rights and licensing: UConn has been in the 20m range for 5 years, and it made 24.5m in fees last year. That's really good. It speaks to the power of UConn's brand and UConn's market. Louisville meanwhile was at 12m average for 5 years until it hit a payday of 16m last year.

When I look at these numbers, I see the two schools as even in revenue through 2010. Then suddenly there was an exponential jump in revenues for Louisville in 2011. It will be interesting to see if they can manage to keep contributions at a 100%+ higher level than recent averages, and whether ticket sales will also continue to be 40% higher than recent averages.

Without knowing the inside scoop, this looks like accounting shenanigans.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Well, we know that Louisville's political hacks are getting in the act. From medic's article:



U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a U of L graduate, said the university should find an appropriate landing spot. He was unsuccessful last year in an attempt to get U of L into the Big 12.

“U of L is the only school in the country with an athletic budget in the top 20 that is not in a power conference,” McConnell said. Athletic director “Tom Jurich has built it, and they should come.”

Ha. That turtle is exactly the face to the media I would want my opponent to have.

 

[HuskyBlue08]

Louisville's ticket revenue jumped because they expanded their football stadium and built a new, larger basketball arena.

More tickets to sell.

 

[upstater]

Louisville's ticket revenue jumped because they expanded their football stadium and built a new, larger basketball arena.

More tickets to sell.

By 40%? Went from 16 to 26. Impressive.

 

[HuskyBlue08]

Maybe the increase was due to extra luxury box and club seating sales in the new arena.

Or maybe it's accouting tricks.

I have no idea. Just offering the other side of the argument.

 

[zls44]

By 40%? Went from 16 to 26. Impressive.

That's really what it was. The Yum! luxury suites and semi-luxury seats (similar to the 40-40 at Barclays) were incredibly hot commodities.

 

[upstater]

That's really what it was. The Yum! luxury suites and semi-luxury seats (similar to the 40-40 at Barclays) were incredibly hot commodities.

There's also the donations. By 100%+! Love to see if they can repeat that in 2011. If you saw my post about Texas and Michigan finances in another thread, you'd see I linked to articles which stated the privately raised donations for facilities was dumped into the athletic budgets as contribution revenue, while the schools bonded out the construction.

This literally means more transfers from the academic side to the athletic side.

Any time I see a 100+% increase, I'm suspicious.

What McConnell said should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Rumrunner]

Remember, the fiction in UofL's Yum Center numbers is that corporate buyers weren't buying louisville cardinals, buut all the events at the Yum which the Louisville Arena authority GAVE to louisville, even though the Yum is a public facility. So the Louisville athletic dept gets/is credited with the revenue from a justin bieber concert.

So the jump in revenues has nothing to do with the athletic dep't, but crass political crony capitalism. Even with their jump, UConn is right in the ballpark. And you're right about UConn's IMG contract, it's one of the best in the country.