As revenue declines, Fresno State drops 3 sports including one it just brought back
Fresno State faced up to a harsh reality on Friday, eliminating its women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis and wrestling programs at the end of the academic year.
By trimming its portfolio to a more manageable 18 sports, an athletics department facing a severe decline in revenue in 2020-21 due to the impacts of COVID-19 is expected to save more than $2.5 million a year and could emerge more competitive on the field.
“We’ve had to make some very difficult decisions this year because of COVID-19 and because of other circumstances even before COVID-19 and this is one of a number of very difficult decisions that we’ve made related to the university,” Fresno State President Joseph Castro said.
“My heart goes out to the 70 student-athletes and their families and to our coaches and staff and their families. Like (athletics director Terry Tumey), I feel that pain very deeply today. At the same time, as president, I must make decisions that are best for the university and the greater good of our university and I feel like this decision is needed today.”
Athletics revenue, according to a department source, will be down by as much as $7 million and that estimate could run higher as the coronavirus continues to impact college athletics.
The department already has had two rounds of furloughs, Tumey took a voluntary pay cut and in late September it eliminated the position of director of marketing and fan engagement.
The student-athletes in the sports that were eliminated will remain on scholarship, if they choose to remain at the university, and contracts of the coaches impacted will be honored within the terms and conditions stated in those deals.
“We all are in mourning here,” Tumey said. “This is a very difficult day.”
After eliminating the three programs, Fresno State will be at the NCAA minimum of six men’s sports. It has 12 women’s sports, and no further cuts are expected.
But at 21 sports, Fresno State was simply overextended when compared to many of its Mountain West and Group of Five conference rivals.
Was adding sports a mistake?
Fresno State reinstated its wrestling program and added women’s water polo to balance Title IX requirements at a time the athletics department was struggling to meet financial obligations with 19 programs – the university was covering budget overruns that ran as much as $2 million.
The additions increased operating and scholarship costs, and while institutional support went up dramatically during Castro’s tenure, a chunk of that money was sent right back to the university to pay for those scholarships.
That had a trickle-down impact on the sports programs at Fresno State, many of which hit the field each season with high expectations within the fan base and the larger Valley community.
While fans might expect the Bulldogs to compete every year for a Mountain West championship in football and to have a chance to play in a New Year’s Six bowl game, with 21 sports programs Fresno State wasn’t able to invest nearly as much in its primary revenue driver as many rivals.
It spent $17,589 per participant in football in 2019, according to data available through the U.S. Department of Education.
The impact on sports programs
Central Florida, which played in the Fiesta Bowl in 2018 and the Peach Bowl in 2017, reported $38,650 per football participant, more than double that of Fresno State. The Golden Knights have 16 sports programs.
Cincinnati, which this week is ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25, reported $25,287. It has 18 sports programs.
Brigham Young, a football independent ranked No. 14, invested $29,571. The Cougars have 21 sports, but generated a reported $72 million in athletics revenue in 2019, about $22 million more than Fresno State.
Southern Methodist, ranked No. 17, spent $28,532. It has 17 sports.
The data reported to the U.S. Department of Education are not apples to apples comparisons, but in the California State University system and Mountain West Conference, San Diego State in 2019 invested $71,885 per football participant.
Money spent does not automatically equal more wins, but on the football field San Diego State has been far more consistent than Fresno State.
Over the past 10 seasons the highs have been just as high for the Aztecs (both have three conference titles), but with no losing seasons in that stretch the lows have not been as low.
The Aztecs have had four seasons with 10 or more victories, played in 10 bowl games and have averaged 9.0 wins, while the Bulldogs have had three seasons with 10 or more wins, played in six bowls and with five losing seasons have averaged 6.8 wins.
Fresno State’s investment is much closer to San Jose State, with its operating expenses per participant of $12,592.
The Spartans have struggled to make an impact since joining the Mountain West Conference in 2013, the past six seasons going 5-7, 1-11, 2-11, 4-8, 6-7 and 3-9 with one bowl appearance.
Why lacrosse, tennis, wrestling?
Fresno State added a women’s lacrosse program for the 2009 season, but it was a bad fit for the university.
With few Division I programs west of the Rocky Mountains, travel costs made it expensive to operate, it brought in no ticket revenue and it had little success on the field. In 12 seasons, the Bulldogs finished above .500 just once and were 44-128, a .256 winning percentage.
When the sport was added the Bulldogs played as an affiliate member of the Pac-12, but when it dropped Fresno State, San Diego State and UC Davis in 2018 the Bulldogs were left in a three-team conference sponsored by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
The MPSF dropped the sport after the 2020 season, which left Fresno State without a conference affiliation.
The Bulldogs’ wrestling program, which had been dropped in 2006 in a cost-cutting move, returned to the mat for the 2018 season. It quickly developed top-level wrestlers, but its operating costs were nearly double what was projected when the sport was reinstated.
Fresno State spent $1.12 million on wrestling in 2019, the most of the three sports that were eliminated.
The wrestling program also has been under investigation by the university and the NCAA for rules violations after a report that a stripper or strippers performed at a party that included recruits on official visits.
And, while the Valley is a hotbed for prep wrestling, that did not translate into ticket sales for meets at the Save Mart Center, even if Fresno State was ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in attendance.
It generated $118,252 in ticket revenue in 2018, but only $79,645 in 2019, according to the financial report Fresno State submitted to the NCAA.
The operating expenses for men’s tennis ($495,124) are less than half what Fresno State spends on women’s lacrosse ($1,086,505) and wrestling, but with an international roster scholarship costs are high.
With the three sports, Fresno State is cutting 12.0 women’s scholarships and 14.4 men’s scholarships (9.9 wrestling, 4.5 tennis).
“It’s hard all the way around for us,” Tumey said. “The wrestling program, of course, has a lasting place here and I feel even more of a heartburn for them because they’ve been through this before.
“We’ve tried to invest in that program and see a path forward for it, but the financial weight of the program was just too dire, too much for us. It has nothing to do with the student-athletes, who are amazing, or their leadership. I have had much joy and pride watching them compete. It has been phenomenal. But all of these decisions are due to our financial condition.”
The university explored an endowment to fund the three sports, which fit together within Title IX compliance. “They kind of work together in sort of a Rubik’s Cube manner,” Castro said.
An endowment just for wrestling would require a commitment of about $14.8 million. For all three sports programs, it would be about $40 million, Castro said.
“That is a very heavy lift, therefore we did not see those prospects coming to fruition,” Tumey said, referencing the $14.8 million.
Budget issues could continue
Fresno State could continue to see its revenue shrink as it attempts to play football this fall with other fall, winter and spring sports jammed into 2021, which would further tax its athletics department.
The Bulldogs have four home football games starting on Oct. 24 against Hawaii, but will not have fans in attendance due to state COVID-19 guidelines, losing a significant source of revenue.
Fresno State last season generated more than $6.3 million from ticket sales with a little more than $5 million coming from football.
Several universities already have made deep cuts to sports programs, including the Bulldogs’ rival Boise State.
The Broncos in July announced swimming and diving and baseball would be cut – baseball was in its first season back after a 40-year hiatus – as it tried to trim about $3 million from its athletics budget.
Akron, Appalachian State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Florida International, Iowa, Old Dominion, Minnesota and La Salle also have eliminated sports programs during the coronavirus pandemic.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 12:32 PM.