Athletic directors of the nation’s largest schools are preparing for a potential financial crisis related to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a survey by LEAD1, an association of athletic directors from 130 top soccer colleges, 63% expect the worst case scenario where their income will decrease by at least 20% during the 2020 school year: twenty-one. Even a shorter soccer season could see schools lose as much, according to data released Thursday.
LEAD1 and TeamWorks, a company that created an app designed to help keep sports teams and departments connected, released the survey of more than 100 AD schools in the Division I Football Bowl subdivision. “State of Athletics vs.
The NCAA cancelled winter and spring sports on March 12, separating thousands of college athletes from their peers and coaches, making them unable to practice and compete.
The sports directors surveyed said their biggest concerns for athletes in the next three months are academic progress, mental health and lack of resources outside their school.
There are also financial issues.
The cancellation of the I-level men’s basketball league cost the NCAA approximately $375 million, which is planned to be allocated to its member schools.
When asked about the worst-case analysis, 65% of sports executives stated that their revenue in the 2019-20 fiscal year will fall from 0% to 20%, and 35% of sports executives expect to drop from 0% to 0%. 10%.
This year, some schools are already taking measures to remedy this shortcoming.
Iowa announced a temporary salary reduction for coaches and certain employees for a year to save more than $3 million. The school will also suspend the training bonus for a year to save one million dollars.
“A lot has changed in the world in a very short time,” sports director Jamie Pollard said in an open letter to Cyclones fans.
Wyoming Athletic Director Tom Burman announced on Twitter that he would cut his salary by 10% through Dec. 31.
In the LEAD1 survey, 40% of the 95 AD respondents said they approved when asked if they think high-income people should volunteer to make a personal financial sacrifice during the crisis; about 15% disapproved.
Soccer season is six months away and for most FBS schools it is by far the biggest revenue generator. Any disruption to the football season could be devastating for college sports because that revenue funds almost all other sports programs.
Matt Balvanz, senior vice president of analytics at sports marketing consulting firm Navigate, said: “We often hear about 85% of the revenue from AD and MMR (multimedia rights) providers from football.”
Are there no fans in the stands to play? Bavanz said that the average box office revenue of the Fifth Momentum School is about $30 million. If 85% of it comes from football, it is a loss of $25 million.
Sports directors surveyed by LEAD1 were asked which sources of income are most relevant to them. Donations and ticket sales get the most votes. Bavanz said that a typical top five power school can generate about US$20-30 million in donations each year, which may be affected by the economic downturn.
Fifty percent of the G5 athletic directors in the LEAD1 survey said the loss of income from student fees was one of their biggest concerns. Student fees and campus grants constitute, on average, 30% to 50% of the revenue of Group of Five schools.
Kansas Athletic director Jeff Long told reporters last month that his staff were already beginning to project how to operate with less.