South Carolina athletics projected revenue drops $58 million, Tanner tells board
The exact impact of the coronavirus pandemic on South Carolina athletics is starting to take shape.
Gamecocks athletic director Ray Tanner spoke to the school’s board of trustees, according to multiple reports, including The Athletic, and said the department’s projected revenue will fall from $128 million to $70 million.
That’s about a 45% revenue drop.
Furloughs were part of a school-wide edict that imposed the cost-saving measure on high earners.
The department just managed to stay in the black last season, despite the loss of revenue from the NCAA basketball tournament being canceled. The department hasn’t been in the red since 2006.
The department can borrow up to around $10 million more for projects, but that likely can’t go into feeding the general operation. The department and the Gamecock Club have about $15 million in combined revenues.
Early in the summer, the school announced a projected budget without the impact of coronavirus, just as a placeholder. That budget had just over $114 million in expenditures, though at the time Tanner had said that number would be lessened by 10% pay cuts some of the highest-paid employees in the department took.
It’s not clear if the $10 million Tanner mentioned include those or are on top of them.
Tanner spoke within a day of the University of Minnesota cutting multiple teams to make ends meet. Tanner has said previously that cutting sports (USC technically has 21, though track accounts for several of them) is something he doesn’t want to do, but all options will be on the table.
The school can only fill Williams-Brice Stadium to 20% capacity, limiting that ticket revenue, and the number of home games went from seven to five. It’s not yet clear how the pandemic will affect SEC Network revenue, which makes up a hefty part of what the conference gives each school.
In the past, Tanner has spoken about this as a one-year dip the department should be able to dig out of, assuming the next year gets back to normal. But that recovery process will be a long one.
South Carolina was last under $70 million in revenue in 2008.
The school will likely save something on not paying out for non-conference football games. The school is also asking fans to keep their annual donation money with the school in a variety of ways while also offering refunds.
The largest expenses in the projected budget were salaries at $54.5 million and scholarships at $11.44 million. Those combined are 57 percent of the total budget.
New projected revenue: $70 million
Initial projected expenses: $114 million
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 3:39 PM.
