Fresno State athletics could lose $4 million in funding. What will that mean for Bulldogs?
Fresno State athletics receives a large chunk of its funding from student fees and institutional support – last year, $20.9 million of its $49.8 million in revenue. But that could be cut by $3 million or more in 2020-21 due to a sharp decline in university revenues related to the coronavirus pandemic, according to university sources.
Couple that with a significantly smaller NCAA distribution due to the cancellation of the NCAA basketball tournament in March, and just off the top that’s more than $4 million in revenue the athletics department could be without when college athletics makes a return to the field, court, diamond and pool.
What does $4 million look like to Fresno State athletics?
There is not a direct line from one to the next and a cut in university support would be felt across the department. But just in sports operations, $4 million would come close to covering the expenses of six of its eight men’s programs spending at a 2019 level on scholarships, coaching salaries and benefits, support staff, uniforms and equipment, team travel, recruiting, marketing and game day expenses.
Operating expenses in 2019 …
- Baseball – $1,849,535
- Wrestling – $1,129,826
- Tennis – $495,124
- Golf – $471,614
- Track & cross country – $441,220
- Total – $4,387,319
It also would come close to covering the operating expenses of five of the Bulldogs’ 13 women’s sports programs …
- Soccer – $1,108,500
- Lacrosse – $1,086,505
- Water polo – $800,098
- Tennis – $581,735
- Golf – $554,675
- Total – $4,131,513
The department could absorb some of the cuts in university support by scaling back the number of games its programs play and when and where they play them, as well as trimming costs in other areas.
Team travel is a major expense for the department – $3.6 million last year. Also, fewer home games would cut game-day expenses (officials, security, event staff, medical personnel) that totaled $3.4 million a year ago.
Athletics director Terry Tumey and his staff have been working with the Bulldogs’ coaches through a number of scenarios, trying to make the pieces fit for its roster of 21 sports programs.
But any hit comes with consequences that might not be covered by cuts to a team’s operating budget or a layoff or furlough of personnel – it last week furloughed part-time and stipend personnel for two months.
“The university has had a tremendous loss in revenue as all universities have, and of course that also reflects losses in revenue that we’ve experienced here in athletics,” Tumey said.
“There’s no question these revenue losses are taking a dramatic toll on us, and we’re trying to figure out the best way to do things,” he added.
The keys for making 2020-21 work will be cutting costs and revenue-generation – that, Tumey said, will be big. And that, obviously, is football.
A determination of what a 2020 football season might look like for Fresno State, San Diego State and San Jose State in the Mountain West Conference is expected to come within the next few weeks. The NCAA Division I Council already last week lifted a moratorium on on-campus activities starting Monday, clearing the way for football and basketball programs to begin voluntary workouts and training programs.
Any revenue the Bulldogs’ athletics department can gain no doubt will help a department that struggles to meet the costs of its sports programs.
After student fees and institutional support, football accounts for a majority of department revenue through ticket sales, game guarantees, parking and concessions revenue, suite leases, media rights and donations directly to the program or tied to it. In 2019, it was a little more than $15.3 million.
Ticket revenue will likely take a significant hit this season with a smaller capacity allowed at stadiums across the country due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, but the department would at least gain some revenue from its home games. Media rights are worth more than $1.1 million to the department, and the Bulldogs are scheduled to play non-conference games at Colorado and at Texas A&M that come with guarantees worth a total of $1.9 million.
“When you have Power Five institutions singing some of these same tunes that I am, it gives you a real indication how far-reaching this thing really is,” Tumey said. “It makes it really tough.
“But these next couple of weeks will be crucial in terms of us really understanding what our 2020-21 academic year will really look like, not just the fall but the entire year.”