Possible lost football revenue could be ‘game-changer’ for South Carolina, Caslen says
The financial future of South Carolina’s athletics department — and perhaps all of college sports — will likely rest on if and how college football can be played this fall.
According to a presentation USC school president Robert Caslen made to the school’s board of trustees Wednesday, revenue reductions from football are expected even if the season and schedule happen as planned. Any bigger changes could cause significant issues.
“That is a game-changer for us in a significant way if we have those sort of football interruptions,” Caslen said during the conference call board meeting.
Caslen did not specify what any fallout could be for the school or athletics department. Football generated more than $65 million during the 2019 fiscal year.
Some schools have already taken drastic measures to save money. Cincinnati has dropped men’s soccer, while Old Dominion dropped wrestling. Iowa State had pay cuts for some of its higher paid employees.
Yahoo reported multiple smaller schools had requested certain requirements be lifted.
The football opener is more than four months away — a home game Sept. 5 against Coastal Carolina — but the question of what might happen is already looming. South Carolina’s campus is closed to in-person classes until Aug. 1, and football coach Will Muschamp said he expected to need eight weeks of conditioning and camp before the team could play.
In other interviews, Gamecocks Athletics Director Ray Tanner said his timeline might be a little shorter that Muschamp’s and floated the idea of players returning to campus before the general population.
Caslen said there are 96 residents still on campus. Multiple Gamecocks coaches have said they have players still in Columbia, 10 from football, all working on injury rehab with trainers. It was not clear if those players were counted among those Caslen referenced.
Caslen also said he hoped the school would be able to make the decision about how the fall semester will operate ideally by May 15, but by June 15 at the latest. USC has been holding classes virtually for about a month now, and that will continue through the summer.
According to the slides from Caslen’s presentation:
▪ Football disruptions will cause significant challenges.
▪ Reduced revenue is likely even if a full season of football is played.
▪ TV and media revenue losses would be impacted by shorter seasons.
▪ Additional costs related to managing large group gatherings are likely.
Both Caslen and Tanner were asked Wednesday when decisions might be made about the football season. Tanner explained that the athletic department is having conversations with the SEC, which in turn is talking to other Power 5 conferences and the NCAA as to the overall structure of the sport.
“There is a lot of conversation going on right now with the Southeastern Conference and with the NCAA,” Caslen said. “And decisions with respect to the fall football season will not made autonomously by us.”
Tanner added, “It certainly hinges around when it’s safe to continue to play.”
SEC administrators are meeting just about daily, and there is no deadline set for when a decision might be made.
Ideas have been floated about a delayed or abridged season, or a season that spans the fall and spring.
According to the school’s 2019 fiscal year report, football brought in $65,404,537 in revenue, accounting for more than 46.5% of the department’s overall revenue and more than 80% of sport-specific revenue.
“Without talking about how much it is potential(ly),” Caslen said, “if you have disruptions to the fall football program, you can all imagine, it will be significant.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 2:38 PM.
