Financial implications are "casting uncertainty on both the immediate and long-term future" of the Univ. of Maryland athletic department following the death of football player Jordan McNair, according to Stubbs & Maese of the WASHINGTON POST. Maryland athletics has for years "struggled to raise funds and sell tickets." Its move to the Big Ten in '14, seen as a "path to profitability for a department that was facing a multimillion-dollar annual deficit, has resulted in just enough revenue to break even." Now, the "financial fallout from the crisis" could "reach into eight figures." The economic peril could "extend to multiple fronts," including a legal settlement with McNair's family, contract buyouts for coaches and administrators, the hiring of new coaches and admins and a decrease in financial support from donors and fans. The school is also "spending money to better understand the circumstances surrounding the tragedy." Maryland "contracted with the consulting firm Walters Inc. for at least $24,000 to examine what happened at the team workout May 29 at which McNair collapsed." A broader -- and "probably more expensive -- probe is being run by an eight-person commission," with much of the groundwork "being done by DLA Piper." Maryland has been criticized in "recent years for its finances and bookkeeping." The school "essentially broke even" in FY '17 with an operating budget of $94.8M and about $80M in revenue, plus $14.5M from "student fees and direct institutional subsidies." The school has "not released season-ticket sales figures" for the '18 football season, but some boosters believe attendance "could be the lowest in Maryland’s five-year tenure in the Big Ten" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/8).
