The Univ. of Oregon athletic department's revenue of $196M for the '13-14 school year is the "most among NCAA Division I public institutions," according to Andrew Greif of the Portland OREGONIAN. Private schools "were not included because they do not have to publicly disclose their figures." USA Today on Tuesday published its annual database of public athletic department finances, and UO was on top -- more than $35M in revenue "ahead of second-place" Univ. of Texas. The department's $83.5M difference between its revenue and operating expenses of $110.4M is also the "widest among its peers." UO officials said that the "sky-high revenue presents a far rosier picture than reality because a huge chunk of it," $95M more specifically, "stems from in-kind facility gifts -- also known as the price tag" of the Hatfield-Dowlin football complex. The complex opened in '13 and was "largely underwritten" by Nike co-Founder & Chair Phil Knight and his wife, Penny. UO reported its $110.4M in expenses, an increase of $15.4M over the previous year, is "also not quite what it seems." The school said that $11M of the total "stems from 'non-capitalized furniture, future and equipment gifted to the athletic department.'" The school said that a "more accurate bottom line" is that UO earned $99.1M of revenue and spent $98.8M in '13-14. That revenue, "in contrast, would rank 22nd overall nationally." The school expects its revenue for FY '15 to "reflect a truer gauge of the department's finances." OU's '15 budget projects $98.4M in revenue, with 68% of the money "generated by its high-profile football program," which won a school-record 13 games in '14 before losing in the first CFP national championship to Ohio State (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/28).
