How can Women's Basketball reduce its deficit?

[TJT]

Conn athletic department in 2018: generated $40 million in revenue, spent $81 million in expenses
UConn athletic department in 2018: generated $40 million in revenue, spent $81 million in expenses - Hartford Courant

The athletic department incurred $80,905,645 in expenses in 2018, down slightly from 2017, while generating $40,418,969 in revenue, also down from 2017. The school’s sports programs were once again heavily subsidized by the university, receiving more than $8.5 million in student fees and more than $30 million in additional institutional support.

The biggest individual team culprit of the UConn athletic department’s 2018 deficit was the school’s football program, which lost $8.7 million. Additionally, men’s basketball lost about $5 million, women’s basketball lost about $3.1 million and the rest of the school’s sports lost about $22.3 million among them.

In 2017, UConn’s athletic department overall incurred more than $83 million in expenses while generating about $41 million in revenues.


What can be done to reduce the net loss of some $3.1M?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Donations?

Donations are the life-blood of all college athletic programs. Financial success does not come simply from the fannies in the seats, but from donors - both corporate, sponsorship and individual.

Join a different conference?

I'm not being a jerk here, the truth is that the biggest issue for UConn is the lack of revenue from the conference, conference TV package, etc. etc. compared to other similar schools.

That said, accounting is what it is. If there is one basic fact about college athletic accounting, individual sport results can be "tweaked" simply by where certain revenues are designated and how expenses such as, for example, advertising, are allocated.

 

[oldude]

UConn made a play for a P-5 conference and came up short. David Benedict now needs to make some difficult choices. Football needs to be downgraded to FCS, or better yet, eliminated entirely. Vermont made that decision years ago as a means of saving hockey, b-ball, etc.

Along with eliminating/downgrading football. UConn needs to get out of the AAC, a conference that makes no sense geographically, and go back to the Big East. That will reduce travel budgets bring back natural geographic rivals like St Johns, Seton Hall, Nova, Georgetown, etc. and also save UConn men’s & women’s basketball. Just look at Villanova’s continuing success on the national level as a blueprint for success in a non-P5 conference.

 

[Orangutan]

There's probably not much to be done. I don't think anyone's cutting Geno's salary anytime soon. Attendance is already fairly good. Maybe you could raise ticket prices? But that could be counterproductive.

Women's college basketball is basically a money loser across the board. This is true of most college sports. The difference is that at most big schools football and men's basketball make money and subsidize the rest of the programs.

For example, I found the '16-17 SEC figures posted by USA Today (which don't include Vandy since they're a private school). The only school that reported an athletics deficit was Missouri.

Women's basketball lost $2.4 million in 16-17 for Tennessee and you would think they would be among the top teams for ticket sales and booster donations.

 

[bennyskid]

To an outsider like me, it seems like the only rational path for UConn is to downgrade football and join the Big East. Right now, everyone in Storrs seems miserable. Downgrading football won't make the football fans any more miserable, but upgrading to the Big East will make basketball fans much, much happier.

I don't know how you handle things like seat donations at UConn, but here at OSU the money I spend on my football tickets also upgrades my MBB and WBB seating. If we didn't have football, I'd just spend more money on my WBB tickets and that revenue would show up in the WBB column instead. I may or may not donate at the same level, but my donations would be reallocated towards WBB as well. I don't know if I'm a typical donor, but based on my personal preferences, I'd say that dropping football would *improve* the bottom line of the WBB program.

 

[Boxerpups4me]

Auriemma offers to forgo pay for CT budget

This is a bit of an older article, but a good read nonetheless

 

[UCONN in OKC]

To an outsider like me, it seems like the only rational path for UConn is to downgrade football and join the Big East. Right now, everyone in Storrs seems miserable. Downgrading football won't make the football fans any more miserable, but upgrading to the Big East will make basketball fans much, much happier.

I don't know how you handle things like seat donations at UConn, but here at OSU the money I spend on my football tickets also upgrades my MBB and WBB seating. If we didn't have football, I'd just spend more money on my WBB tickets and that revenue would show up in the WBB column instead. I may or may not donate at the same level, but my donations would be reallocated towards WBB as well. I don't know if I'm a typical donor, but based on my personal preferences, I'd say that dropping football would *improve* the bottom line of the WBB program.

If you think we are bad now... by eliminating football will make us less likely to compete with all the other major conferences. That will mean eliminating more sports, if the revenue potential is gone.... what other sports do we start eliminating? we carry a lot varsity teams mostly due to having the Football team. Do we eliminate Hockey, softball, etc... you guys do forget of Title IX. That is 85 extra ladies scholarships due to Football.

 

[Husky fanatic]

It wasn't that long ago that UConn women's basketball was the only team not losing money at UConn

 

[Adios]

We are not dropping football. Give it up, already.

We will get a P5 invite; inevitable.

 

[brownale]

Are there sports (both men and women) that should be intramural only and paid for by student activity fees?

 

['nuff sed]

Conn athletic department in 2018: generated $40 million in revenue, spent $81 million in expenses
UConn athletic department in 2018: generated $40 million in revenue, spent $81 million in expenses - Hartford Courant

The athletic department incurred $80,905,645 in expenses in 2018, down slightly from 2017, while generating $40,418,969 in revenue, also down from 2017. The school’s sports programs were once again heavily subsidized by the university, receiving more than $8.5 million in student fees and more than $30 million in additional institutional support.

The biggest individual team culprit of the UConn athletic department’s 2018 deficit was the school’s football program, which lost $8.7 million. Additionally, men’s basketball lost about $5 million, women’s basketball lost about $3.1 million and the rest of the school’s sports lost about $22.3 million among them.

In 2017, UConn’s athletic department overall incurred more than $83 million in expenses while generating about $41 million in revenues.


What can be done to reduce the net loss of some $3.1M?

I believe scholarships are included in that number so it's not a big deal in the big picture.

3.1M is chump change to the University system.....no corrective action needed in the WBB program IMHO

 

['nuff sed]

We are not dropping football. Give it up, already.

We will get a P5 invite; inevitable.

P5 really ??? we couldn't get in a P5 before.....why would we get an invite now.

They're praying for relief with a new AAC TV contract.

Reality is no P5 wants to get stuck with a home and home with an anchor of a small stadium like the Rent, which would have been okay for a Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, but not for big time D1 football.

It's about $$$$ and how much of it you bring to the game.

 

[Charliebball]

is it possible to schedule more home games to save on travel and also schedule a few more games against really good teams to get additional TV revenue?

 

[CL82]

Conn athletic department in 2018: generated $40 million in revenue, spent $81 million in expenses
UConn athletic department in 2018: generated $40 million in revenue, spent $81 million in expenses - Hartford Courant

The athletic department incurred $80,905,645 in expenses in 2018, down slightly from 2017, while generating $40,418,969 in revenue, also down from 2017. The school’s sports programs were once again heavily subsidized by the university, receiving more than $8.5 million in student fees and more than $30 million in additional institutional support.

The biggest individual team culprit of the UConn athletic department’s 2018 deficit was the school’s football program, which lost $8.7 million. Additionally, men’s basketball lost about $5 million, women’s basketball lost about $3.1 million and the rest of the school’s sports lost about $22.3 million among them.

In 2017, UConn’s athletic department overall incurred more than $83 million in expenses while generating about $41 million in revenues.


What can be done to reduce the net loss of some $3.1M?

Share sneakers and jerseys? I mean there are only five players on the court at a time. Why pay for all of them to have uniforms?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

If you think we are bad now... by eliminating football will make us less likely to compete with all the other major conferences. That will mean eliminating more sports, if the revenue potential is gone.... what other sports do we start eliminating? we carry a lot varsity teams mostly due to having the Football team. Do we eliminate Hockey, softball, etc... you guys do forget of Title IX. That is 85 extra ladies scholarships due to Football.

I agree that eliminating football doesn't look like it would work - the downside that almost any school that has tried it (and some have) is that donations plummet. Folks will always donate to football and men's basketball - at most schools it is tougher to get them to donate to WBB, probably not so disproportionate at UConn as some others.

 

[CL82]

If you think we are bad now... by eliminating football will make us less likely to compete with all the other major conferences. That will mean eliminating more sports, if the revenue potential is gone.... what other sports do we start eliminating? we carry a lot varsity teams mostly due to having the Football team. Do we eliminate Hockey, softball, etc... you guys do forget of Title IX. That is 85 extra ladies scholarships due to Football.

Keep in mind that lion's share of Nike and IMG deals are derived from football. Keep in mind as well that UConn doesn't show this in it's accounting.

 

[Charliebball]

we do raffle tickets................gotta be good for 75 bucks profit a game

 

[bennyskid]

We are not dropping football. Give it up, already.

We will get a P5 invite; inevitable.

Why? What do you have to offer a Power 5 conference? The conferences aren't charities that hand out money to schools just because they feel deserving. They exist to make money for their members, and adding UConn would not be not a money-making deal. If it was, you would already be there.

Worrying about football donations plummeting when they don't even cover the cost of the football program is irrational. The question you should be asking is, "How are Big East schools faring financially compared with AAC schools?" You should know that the AAC schools covered in the USA Today database are all subsidizing their athletic programs to the tune of over 40% of expenses - the whole league is populated by schools who are operating under the same delusion. The Big East programs (all private) aren't in that database, but you can be pretty sure that they are on a far better financial footing.

 

[UCONN in OKC]

Keep in mind that lion's share of Nike and IMG deals are derived from football. Keep in mind as well that UConn doesn't show this in it's accounting.

Add all the upgrade to Facility that is going on.... are included into this number

 

[Plebe]

We are not dropping football. Give it up, already.

We will get a P5 invite; inevitable.

Just curious: how do you figure it's "inevitable"?

 

[Charliebball]

Conn athletic department in 2018: generated $40 million in revenue, spent $81 million in expenses
UConn athletic department in 2018: generated $40 million in revenue, spent $81 million in expenses - Hartford Courant

The athletic department incurred $80,905,645 in expenses in 2018, down slightly from 2017, while generating $40,418,969 in revenue, also down from 2017. The school’s sports programs were once again heavily subsidized by the university, receiving more than $8.5 million in student fees and more than $30 million in additional institutional support.

In 2017, UConn’s athletic department overall incurred more than $83 million in expenses while generating about $41 million in revenues.


What can be done to reduce the net loss of some $3.1M?

not too long ago UConn athletics spending was actually ever so slightly in the black

UConn remains highest-revenue athletic department outside of Power Five

 

[Beemer]

Eliminate positions in the athletic department itself for starters before raising ticket prices. And God yes get out of the AAC. Football would have to be downgraded but it is already circling the drain anyway in terms of performance so I don't see much more harm being done to the program by doing it.

 

[SVCBeercats]

What can be done to reduce the net loss of some $3.1M?

Pay the coach and his staff $3.1M less.

 

[CL82]

Add all the upgrade to Facility that is going on.... are included into this number

Mmm, not sure what you mean, but the facility work is being done from private donation and ticket surcharges.

 

[Monte]

is it possible to schedule more home games to save on travel and also schedule a few more games against really good teams to get additional TV revenue?

I think travel IS a big expense. For example, figure what it would cost for 1 couple to go to the Virgin Islands.
What was the total number of people that went there, players, coaches, (others?) ?