The Univ. of Texas finished the '15-16 academic year "with an eye-popping" $6.5M surplus, according to Brian Davis of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Just two years ago, the athletic department was $2.8M "in the red," marking the "first time UT’s athletic department had lost money" since '99-'00. UT in '15-16 brought in almost $188M in revenue and had expenses of $181.5M, which "includes transferring a record" $10M into the university’s coffers. Only a "handful of schools transfer anything to the academic side." UT’s football program alone brought in $127.9M and spent only $28.7M -- leaving $99.2M to "fund the school’s other 19 varsity sports." Men’s basketball was the "only other sport to generate a surplus [$8.4M]." Baseball "usually finishes in the positive, but the program showed a $97,775 loss during former coach Augie Garrido’s last season." Sources said that overall, this news should be "well received" by UT President Greg Fenves, someone who "trusts and still has high confidence" in interim AD Mike Perrin. Texas saw "dramatic jumps in ticket sales" during the '15-16 academic year. The school had $60.9M in ticket sales "across the board." Last summer, Perrin "broke the school’s contract with The Aspire Group, a 32-person outbound sales calling team that charged UT a monthly fee of $26,666" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1/11).
