With two of the five “Power Conferences” postponing their season until possibly the spring, the college football season, as we know it, looks bleak.
Fall won’t be the same,
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. Football is by far the largest revenue generator for universities’ athletic departments. The 65 “Power Five” schools stand to lose more than $4 billion in football revenues and at least $1.2 billion of that from lost ticket revenue. (Power Five schools – think Ohio State, Michigan, USC, LSU, Florida State, etc). For perspective, the cancellation of the March Madness tournament (basketball) cost schools $375 million, which doesn’t hold a candle to football season. Wonder what your favorite school’s athletic department’s annual budget is? PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR MIND BLOWN
2. Out of the 1,100+ NCAA schools, only 29 made a profit and very few have the financial reserves needed. That loss in revenue from the March Madness tournament that never happened and football season will impact other sports. Schools have already committed to pulling non-revenue generating sports like men’s and women’s golf, hockey, baseball/softball and tennis. That’s why in the PAC-12 (Pacific Athletic Conference) player protest that they wanted to cut coaching and administrative salaries to lower the overhead to protect these other sports. WILL THEY SURVIVE?
3. The trickle-down effect is real. From the non-athletic side of universities that count on the money, to the Olympics, which count on amateur athletes to lead the country to gold. TEAM U.S.A. could be a side effect of the cancellation of the seasons for sports other than football. GOING FOR GOLD
4. It’s not just about the dollars and cents for the schools, the players may take a hit having to choose between the NFL Draft (National Football League) and a football season, if they play in the spring. (I.e. key players are not likely to play if it comes down to it because they would need to focus on preparing for the draft which is also in the spring). A season can make or break a player in their future football career, so it’s anyone’s guess what will happen. CONTINUE THE UNPREDICTABILITY
5. So many college towns depend on these games, from the food vendors to the hotels. For example, on average, the Tuscaloosa area (home of Alabama football) sees a “visitor expenditure impact” of about $19.6 million from a home game. BRING HOME THE BACON
