Increased Bowl Revenue Pays Dividends For Univ. Of Wisconsin's Budget Surplus

The Univ. of Wisconsin athletic department is "projecting a net surplus of more than $214,000" for '16-17, 30% higher than what was included in the school's budget, according to Todd Milewski of the WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL. A "larger-than-expected Big Ten Conference bowl payout" helped the athletic department's financial bottom line. The conference distributed $8.8M in bowl revenue to "each of the 11 schools that get a full share." UW, which received more than $7.2M in bowl money in the '15-16 FY, "had budgeted" for $6.4M in '16-17. UW Associate AD/Business Operations Mario Morris said that "another positive indicator for UW's budget" was a "smaller payment in conference home football game revenue sharing." Morris added that UW's revenue from its own ticket sales -- "especially in football, volleyball and men's hockey -- also did well compared to budgeted projections" (MADISON.com, 5/18).