USC’s athletic department was not stopped "from breaking" the $100M benchmark for the first time during the period covering July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014, despite a "turbulent 2013 football season that included coaching turnover and a trip to a lower-level bowl game," according to a U.S. Department of Education report cited by Gary Klein of the L.A. TIMES. USC "reported total expenses and revenue" of $106.5M for the period, which "is an increase" of $8.7M from the previous year. USC's football expenses "increased by about" $7M to $30.3M. Revenue was $44.8M, "an increase" of $1M. USC athletic department COO & CFO Steve Lopes said that some of the increase in football expenses "is attributable to the coaching changeover, which requires payments on contracts." USC’s home football attendance "dropped from about 88,000 per game for six games" in '12 to about 73,000 per game for seven games last season. But Lopes said that total revenue "increased on the strength of 'a very good year fundraising,' the Pac-12 Conference’s television contracts and USC’s corporate sponsorships" (L.A. TIMES, 10/16).
