Ole Miss' shares in FY '18 and '19 had been cut because the football team had been banned from postseason playGETTY IMAGES
The SEC "increased its annual revenue" by $105M during the year ending Aug. 31, 2021, making a "total revenue of just over" $833M, according to Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY. The resulting distributions to its 14 member schools "averaged about" $54.6M per school, an increase of just over $9M per school "compared to the distributions the conference reported" for its '20 fiscal year. In addition, the SEC "provided each of its schools" with a $23.3M advance on future conference distributions in FY '21. The advance money "came from a loan to the SEC" that was for $350M from Truist. SEC Associate Commissioner/Communications Herb Vincent said that Regions "also is involved in the loan." Vincent said that the jump in '21 was "generally attributable [to] the SEC feeling the greatest impact from the pandemic" in FY '20, "versus a limited impact" in '20-21. Nearly all of the SEC's revenue increase "came in TV and radio rights fees," which rose to $588M in '21, from $497M in '20. The conference's new tax return showed that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was "credited with just under" $3M in total compensation for the '20 calendar year. While the average per-school distribution for FY '21 was about $54.6M, three schools "received notably different amounts." Mississippi received $61.9M, LSU $50.5M and Missouri $49.6M. Mississippi shares in FY '18 and '19 "had been cut because the football team had been banned from postseason play." Vincent said that LSU and Missouri's distributions for FY '21 were "reduced because of postseason football bans" (USA TODAY, 2/11).
