Expenses "exceeded revenue at all but 20 schools" in the FBS, with an average loss of $2.3M among the Power Five conferences, according to an NCAA study of '13 budgets cited by Mike Herndon of the BIRMINGHAM NEWS. The average loss "at all other FBS schools" was $17.6M. The report "did not specify which 20 FBS athletic departments had higher revenues than expenses." The study found that median annual revenue "generated through ticket sales, broadcast agreements and other sources increased" by 3.2% from '12 to '13 while "median total expenses rose" by 10.6%. Institutional subsidies "are used to bridge the gap" at schools where the athletic revenue "does not meet expenses." But the report found that at the median D-I school, the athletics budget "rose more quickly than the institutional budget, as well." It also showed that FCS schools reported a 10.1% "increase in generated revenues" since '12 and only an 8% increase in expenses (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 8/21).
THE RAINBOW CONNECTION: ESPN's Brett McMurphy said the Univ. of Hawaii dropping its football program, something AD Ben Jay alluded to earlier in the week, is a "possibility, but I don’t know how real it is." The school is "trying to get more money out of the state to fund the program, but the bottom line is ... the non-power conference schools are in a tough time now." McMurphy: "You get the Power Five schools with the autonomy, they're going to have cost of attendance, unlimited meals. They're going to have other legal perks, and the non-Power Five schools are going to have to offer these things." If they don't, they "can't compete with these other schools." McMurphy said Jay is "worried about program reduction -- not necessarily the football program, but the other programs." ESPN's Chris Low said the "people who are going to suffer are the smaller sports." ESPN's Chris Cotter: "It's bad for college sports" ("College Football Live," ESPN, 8/20).
