From Greg Hansen 6/26/05 - OU compared to U of A

[Class of 1990]

Link (http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/sports/81485.php)

"My nickel's worth

The UA athletic department fund-raisers recently played host to many of its big-money donors, a getaway to Cabo San Lucas that included L.A. Angels owner Arte Moreno.

The Wildcats are in the process of developing private financing to build a basketball practice facility, re-do the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center and make Sancet Field into a contemporary college baseball stadium. The price for those three projects could reach $10 million.

The sum of keeping abreast of the nation's most successful athletic programs is sometimes staggering and never does it get less. Thus, on Monday, the Wildcats will have an afternoon reception for NASCAR star Kurt Busch, who attended the UA before going on to racing fortune.

The need to produce revenue never ends. For example, Oklahoma on Friday approved a $3 million bonus to football coach Bob Stoops on the condition he stay on the job four more seasons. His annual salary: $2.6 million, four times what his brother makes in Tucson.

It raised the salary of athletic director Joe Castiglione to $495,000, which is about $160,000 more than the UA's Jim Livengood. It also raised the salary of women's basketball coach Sherri Coale to $500,000, almost quadruple what UA coach Joan Bonvicini earns.

Plus, the OU Board of Regents approved raises for Sooner football coaches so that none of Stoops' assistants makes less than $170,000 annually. (The UA's low is $116,000).

What is crazy is that Oklahoma's athletic department is considered about equal to that of Arizona's. With the exception of OU's football attendance, the schools compete mostly in the same neighborhood. The expectations are similar at each place.

And yet when it comes to finances, it's as if the UA is in a lower league entirely. "

This last part I question. OU football most likely generates much much more then the approx 12 million the U of A football program brings in.

Anyone in Oklahoma know how much ? I'm guessing 30 million. That makes a huge difference. Can Tucson and/or the U of A compete in the finance department ?

"Just win baby" - Al Davis. Get us to Rose Bowl Stoops and this town, alumni and heck all of Southern Arizona would go freakin nuts. Then the $$$$ will flow. Its pressure in Stoops to be sure but why do things like coach if you aren't up for the challenge. Also the legacy.

[Auercat]

Like we've all been saying 1990, football is the financial engine that drives the entire AD bus. 5 years of futility have put the UA behind the 8 ball in terms of overall generation of revenues. Hence, not putting in a bid to host a baseball regional (baseball attendance had zero to do with that. It was all football related) and having to raise funds more creatively for all sports facilities. Until football starts becoming the hot ticket, the entire UA AD will suffer financially.

Bearing Down on Stoops Having Enough Success To Facilitate Some of The Great Things Going on At Other Places To Happen At The UA

Auercat

[Mustache Man]

Like we've all been saying 1990, football is the financial engine that drives the entire AD bus. 5 years of futility have put the UA behind the 8 ball in terms of overall generation of revenues. Hence, not putting in a bid to host a baseball regional (baseball attendance had zero to do with that. It was all football related) and having to raise funds more creatively for all sports facilities. Until football starts becoming the hot ticket, the entire UA AD will suffer financially.

Bearing Down on Stoops Having Enough Success To Facilitate Some of The Great Things Going on At Other Places To Happen At The UA

Auercat

Exactly right...even though Lute pulls in more money via basketball than perhaps all but 3-4 other programs nationally, a top-drawing basketball program does not pull in anywhere the kind of money that a top football program does.

[ariz2000]

Class of 1990, 30 million was a pretty good guess.

Here are some figures from my poking around.

For fiscal year 2004, the Univ. of Oklahoma Athletic Department had revenues of $45,663,000. That's up from FY 2003 revenues of $42,388,000.

(Oklahoma) "Revenue into the Athletic Department is at an all-time high as are expenses. The total budget for 2004-2005 will approximate $55,000,000 which is double the level 5 years earlier. Donations, marketing, and fund-raising activities have resulted in tremendous revenue growth despite the recent economic down swing."

University of Oklahoma 2004 Annual financial report:http://www.ou.edu/controller/control/2004_fs.pdf

University of Arizona 2004 Annual financial report:http://www.fso.arizona.edu/fso/annualre/2004finance.pdf

Note that you will not find any athletic department financial info in there (Arizona); I'm assuming it's because the ICA is now self-sufficient and separate from the University.

Interesting facts and figures from the UA Athletic Department website:http://www.arizonaathletics.com/pdf6/10756.pdf?ATCLID=65983&SPSID=8547&SPID=535&DB_OEM_ID=1600


From the Department of Education, http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/Search.asp, here are some numbers:

Arizona, Fiscal Year 2003-2004:

Revenues:

Men's Basketball $13,498,186
Football $13,266,117

Total Revenues Athletic Department: $35,296,096

Expenses:

Men's Basketball $4,092,331
Football $9,916,953

Total Expenses Athletic Department: $34,997,213


Oklahoma, Fiscal Year 2003-2004:

Revenues:

Men's Basketball: $6,052,531
Football: $34,293,061

Total Revenues Athletic Department: $57,924,631

Expenses:

Men's Basketball: $3,107,466
Football: $13,728,435

Total Expenses Athletic Department: $47,843,256



There was a study done in 2001 that looked at all the revenues of Division IA college football, but I could not find it on the NCAA websites.

Anyway, there is no question that football is the cash-cow of collegiate athletics. As these numbers show, OU football brings in, by itself, an amount almost equal to UA's entire athletic department. Though, Oklahoma Football is tenth overall among the top revenue producing programs.

Here is the top twelve:

School Football Revenue Football Expenses
(in millions)
Texas $47.6 $12.9
Tennessee $46.7 $12.8
Florida $42.7 $12.6
Georgia $42.1 $8.8
Alabama $39.8 $11.8
Michigan $38.5 $10.6
LSU $38.4 $15.3
Auburn $37.2 $12.6
Penn State $37.1 $10.9
Oklahoma $34.3 $13.7
Texas A&M $31.1 $9.8
Nebraska $30.2 $13.0

[ariz2000]

oops, the numbers at the end got condensed, there should be three columns, school names, football revenue, and football expenses.

[Class of 1990]

Great reply ariz2000.

Pride of Milford, CT sending sports rep to ya !!!

[ByJoveByJingle]

Sometimes when I read Greg Hansen, I think we should all pack up our gear and go home.

Let's just say if I ever became famous and felt that I was "having trouble keeping my feet on the ground," Greg would immediately be hired as a part of my posse. :p

[ariz2000]

:)

I have all the faith in the world in Mike Stoops, and my hope is that he can build on the tradition of Smith and Tomey, as Lute did on McKale and Snowden.

Though I don't know if we can double our athletic department revenue in five years, as Oklahoma did. I think that was more reflective of the sleeping giant that Oklahoma football was, as they had decades of tradition and national success.

Though, as others have said, and I think we all agree, a Rose Bowl appearance would absolutely blow-up support and donations.

[losgatosaz05]

:)

I have all the faith in the world in Mike Stoops, and my hope is that he can build on the tradition of Smith and Tomey, as Lute did on McKale and Snowden.

Though I don't know if we can double our athletic department revenue in five years, as Oklahoma did. I think that was more reflective of the sleeping giant that Oklahoma football was, as they had decades of tradition and national success.

Though, as others have said, and I think we all agree, a Rose Bowl appearance would absolutely blow-up support and donations.

Agreed. A ROSE BOWL appearance would send TIX sales through the roof the following year. I believe that Stoops will build on what Smith and Tomey built and we can all call the Mackof### era the equivalent of the Ben Lindsey year for UA hoops.

[aicrag]

A Rose Bowl appearance would drive the entire Southern ARizona region crazy. I get chills thinking about something like that happening to the UA football program. An afternoon in Pasadena on New Year's Day would be fantastic. I would personally do just about anything to get my hands on a couple of tickets to that game. I don't care if we were playing Northwestern. I'd really like to think this current coach has that ability, but am holding my breath. But I love the direction of the program. I have been a season ticket holder for 3 years now and can definitely sense a change in momentum from just two years ago.
As far as comparing the UA to OU it is really not fair at this point. They are able to sell out an 86,000 seat stadium while we struggle to put 50,000 people in the stands. I went to OU for graduate school in 99-01 and can tell you that football is much more of a religion for them than basketball is for Tucson.

Ciao

[WallyNoche]

A ROSE BOWL appearance

3 years... :smokin:

[Footballjunkie]

...football is much more of a religion for them than basketball is for Tucson.
CiaoYou have blasphemed. :slap:

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