Penn State's Athletics Revenue Fell By $7.9M in '12; Football Contributions Rose Over 350%

Although contributions to Penn State's football programs "rose by more than 350%," the university's athletics operating revenue "declined by nearly" $7.9M during the '11-12 fiscal year, according to a school report cited by Berkowitz & Upton of USA TODAY. The report is the "first since former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky's indictment on child molestation charges and coach Joe Paterno's firing in November 2011." Among the report's 15 revenue categories, PSU athletics' "greatest decline on a dollar basis was in overall contributions, in which it sustained a drop of nearly" $8.8M compared with '10-11. However, contributions the school attributed to football "jumped from" $2.1M in '10-11 to $9.7M in '11-12. But the report showed that contributions "not allocated to any one team fell to" $10.1M from $26.7M. Despite the decline in overall revenue and an "increase in operating expenses, Penn State exceeded the NCAA's benchmark for athletics sufficiency" (USA TODAY, 4/9).