The Univ. of Michigan's athletic department "projects a surplus" of nearly $1M for its FY '17 and will have operating expenses of $161M this next year, according to Angelique Chengelis of the DETROIT NEWS. UM AD Warde Manuel said that the department will "break even" in FY '16. Football season-ticket prices will "remain unchanged" from '16-17 -- UM plays eight home games this season compared to seven last year. Corporate sponsorship revenues are projected to jump from $16.2M in '16 to $17.7M in '17. This in large part is due to the "new apparel deal with Nike that begins Aug. 1." The budget projects facility revenues to increase to $6M from $4.6M last year, in large part because of "special-event rentals at Michigan Stadium," like an upcoming soccer game between Chelsea and Real Madrid. Manuel said that the stadium "could be used for more non-football events, but that's not a priority." Manuel also noted that he is "not opposed to having concerts at the stadium" (DETROIT NEWS, 6/17). In Detroit, David Jesse notes former UM interim AD Jim Hackett was projecting a $7.9M deficit for this year, but that "didn't come to fruition." The "largest causes for the initial projection" were buyouts for resigned AD Dave Brandon and fired football coach Brady Hoke. Brandon's buyout was "severely mitigated because of his new job" as Toys "R" Us CEO. Hoke signed a three-year contract to be Oregon's defensive coordinator, where he will make $400,000 this season. UM also "was aided as the Big Ten distribution jumped" from $5M to $32M (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/17).
A REAL JIM DANDY: The DETROIT NEWS' Jesse notes UM football coach Jim Harbaugh has been "all over the country for camps, with nearly 40 during this month." Manuel said that the trip "has a budget of $350,000." Jesse notes UM spent $211,948 on Harbaugh's '15 tour, which was "about one-third as long and did not include multiple trips to American Samoa and one extended to Australia." This year's camp tour "will have 35 sites in over 20 states and the two trips out of the continental U.S." (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/17).
