How is coronavirus affecting Clemson Athletics? Breaking down the financial impact
The coronavirus outbreak is having a financial impact throughout the world, and Clemson University’s Athletics Department is no different.
Clemson released to The State an estimation of what kind of financial impact COVID-19 has had on athletics.
Clemson is expected to save approximately $2.35 million in expenses, but it is also expected to lose an estimated $3.368 million in revenue. That balances out to a net loss of approximately $1.038 million due to the coronavirus, according to figures provided by the school.
The numbers are an estimation for spring sports, but the financial impact could be much greater if the football season is unable to be played this fall.
The ACC suspended all athletics-related activities beginning March 12, and that suspension will last until at least the end of the spring semester. It is not yet known if college sports will return in the fall. Despite the impact of the coronavirus, Clemson Athletics Director Dan Radakovich told SportsTalk radio that the Clemson Athletics Department is still doing well overall.
“We’re in a very good spot. Whether it’s our reserves or our donors at IPTAY, we are in a really, really positive situation and really have got to thank them for putting us in this position,” Radakovich said.
The lost revenue for Clemson consists of three main areas: ACC and NCAA money distribution, ticket sales refunds and concessions.
The NCAA had planned to distribute approximately $600 million to its schools before the cancellation of the basketball tournaments and other winter and spring championships. That number dropped to $225 million after the coronavirus outbreak shut everything down. Clemson estimates that it is missing out on $2.693 million with the NCAA lowering its distribution amount.
Clemson is currently in the process of refunding baseball and softball tickets that had been purchased for games that ended up not happening. Those refunds total about $595,000, according to the school. Clemson also estimated that it would have made about an additional $80,000 from concessions at spring sports.
While Clemson is missing out on a good bit of revenue, there are also savings. The school estimates that it is saving $1.2 million on team travel and postseason costs. It is also saving approximately $400,000 on recruiting and $750,000 on events and other services.
Radakovich is taking a “glass as being half full” approach to having a football season in 2020.
This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 3:00 PM.
