Butch Jones has been heralded for restoring hope to the Tennessee Volunteer football team, and has the recruits to prove it. But after the lights in Neyland Stadium go down, the athletic program still has budget woes. A winning football team, however, has the potential to change that, and even reinvigorate the school.
Last week, the athletic department released its report for the 2013-14 fiscal year, revealing a profit of only $60,880 on a $103 million budget, according to UT Sports.
At $2 million, UT’s athletic department also has the lowest reserve funds of any SEC school.
“Our number one priority is to build that reserve,” Athletic Director Dave Hart said in an interview last week. “The Chancellor has been really, really good in his assistance and understanding that we do need to build our reserve.”
As part of his effort to rebuild the reserve, Hart successfully pushed in September for Knox County to end its portion of the local 5 percent amusement tax on home football and basketball ticket sales. Last year, athletics returned $1.6 million to the city and county in taxes, while concerts and similar events are not included. While Knoxville will continue to charge their 4.5 percent portion of the tax, the charge is an example of the “unsustainable” models that, if ended, will help athletics get back on track.
In 2012, UT returned a three-year, $18 million investment by athletics to further help the troubled department, a move Hart said would help start to fix their budget woes.
“We could really build a financially strategic plan to climb out of our existing, current financial dilemma we inherited,” Hart said.
It is not likely a coincidence, though, the years of sagging budget and reinvestment to athletics saw some of the worst years of Volunteer football in 100 years.
In contrast, the University of Alabama has seen a surge in funds, energy and a renewed focus on academics following head football coach Nick Saban’s success. In 2007, Alabama’s athletic department made $7.1 million in profit from a $67.7 million budget.
Five years, a new head coach and three national championships later, the Crimson Tide athletics had grown to a $124.5 million budget, making $19.4 million in profit, according to Forbes.com.
But the benefits of Alabama’s highly successful football program don’t end there.
Following the football team’s national recognition, Alabama also saw a surge in admission applications, in particular from out-of-state students. With more admissions, the school could raise its standards, dropping its acceptance rate to 53 percent from 64 percent in just six years.
And with more students from out-of-state coming to the school, Alabama also saw an increase in revenue due to the higher tuition rate.
While not on the level of Alabama, UT is also experiencing an increase in admissions, a boost Director of Undergraduate Admissions Kari Alldredge said can come from the mere energy of athletics, regardless of whether the team won or lost.
“Doesn’t take a winning football season for the energy of athletics to impact our campus,” Alldredge said, “including the ability to recruit students.”
This year welcomed the largest freshman class in over 30 years, some 4,700 students, a number Alldredge credits to a very visible athletic program.
“That’s a conversation starter for us,” she said, “when we’re able to walk into a high school or college fair in California and people know who we are because we play football, or our Lady Vols or basketball program.”
And the boost from a winning football team can go even further.
While a study by Texas A&M found no direct correlation between winning football seasons and increases in donations, Alabama saw a $600 million boon in a campaign for alumni gifts following its national championships.
While once again not on the level of the Crimson Tide, UT has seen a recent uptick in donations. Last year, the school received $130 million in donations, a 40 percent increase from the previous year, as well as an 8 percent increase in number of donors.
Lee Patouillet, vice-chancellor for alumni affairs, said donations come when alumni are positive about the school and its direction, and football and athletics are just one part of that.
“People want to invest and be associated with an organization that is on the move,” he said.
Aside from the financials, a win on Saturday increases overall campus morale and pride in the university, Hart said.
“(Athletics) is the rallying point for our campus,” he said. “It extends beyond local and regional borders; it’s the rallying point for our state and across America.”
