Missouri’s first two years in the SEC "proved to be lucrative for the school’s athletics department," as the university had a nearly $10M operating budget surplus, according to Dave Matter of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Furthermore, all SEC schools "have yet to cash in on the expected windfall from the SEC Network." Missouri athletics "generated an operating surplus" of $3.49M for FY '13-14. During FY '12-13, the school's first year collecting SEC revenue, athletics "took in an operating surplus" of $6.03M. Missouri during FY '13-14 also "generated school-record athletics revenue" of $83.72M, an increase of 9.7%. Missouri Exec Associate AD Tim Hickman said, "That was obviously a great year for football and that drove a lot of things to exceed our expectations." Matter notes the athletic program in '12 "had to borrow from the university’s coffers while operating at a deficit" of nearly $18M during its first year in the SEC because the Big 12 withheld $12.41M in league revenue "as part of the school’s exit fee." For the most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30, Missouri's "largest source of revenue" was $24.24M via ticket sales, up 7.5% from the previous year. The football team "led the way" with $17.55M in ticket sales revenue for the '13 season, a 17.2% increase "despite Memorial Stadium’s decreased capacity caused by renovations." Missouri "didn’t budget for an increase in TV revenue." But Hickman said that the school's SEC Net payout "could be between" $2-5M, and the program budgeted for a $2.5M increase in bowl revenue based on the new CFP and SEC bowl structure (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/18).
BREAK IT DOWN: In Missouri, David Morrison reported the athletic program's biggest expenses "came from salaries, bonuses and benefits paid to the coaching and administrative staffs," totaling $31.3M, a 9.1% increase. The cost of facilities maintenance and rental rose nearly 60% to $11.4M, while the "outstanding debt on facilities" rose 256%, from $22.8M to $81.3M. Hickman said that the added facilities costs "came largely from furnishing the school’s new SEC Network studio at Mizzou Arena as well as paying for furniture, fixtures and equipment for some of the department’s other projects" (COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE, 2/15).
