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Non-revenue sport: an example
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georgewebb Offline
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Non-revenue sport: an example
Here are some interesting statistics for just one sport (lacrosse) at Division I FBS schools in the 2013 season:

Men's lacrosse
Median Revenue: $650,000
Median Expenses: $1.4 million
Median Net: $365,000 loss

Women's lacrosse
Median Revenue: $205,000
Median Expenses: $946,000
Median Net: $501,000 loss

Source: LACROSSE magazine (published by US Lacrosse), Oct. 2014 at 16.

Now, some speculation on my part:
- On the revenue side, my hunch is that the postseason revenue (gate and TV revenue from conference tournaments and NCAA tournament) for men's lacrosse is several multiples of any such revenue on the women's side. I have no idea how that revenue is shared among the various teams.

- On the expense side, Division I women's lacrosse is more geographically spread, so I would expect that the median women's travel expense is higher. On the other hand, salary expenses for men's coaching staffs are likely much higher than in the women's game.

- Even in FBS, field-sharing varies widely -- from schools where lacrosse, soccer and football all share one playing field to campuses where each has its own. So to the extent field maintenance costs are a factor, different schools may allocate them in different ways.

--

Every sport has its own specifics, but I thought this might be a useful, order-of-magnitude example of how much it might cost a university to add a non-revenue team sport. So before people start chiming in with "Yes, but women's softball would have different field expenses" or "Men's soccer would have different travel costs", let me say again: it's only an order-of-magnitude example. There is no advocacy or normative judgment here. It's just a set of numbers that happened to be both recent and handy.
09-25-2014 09:11 AM
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Converted Rice Offline
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Post: #2
RE: Non-revenue sport: an example
I would be shocked if the $650,000 was median revenue. That looks more like top 2 revenue to me. I have no facts just gut feeling but I would bet the $205,000 would be closer to median. College sports outside of football and some men's basketball programs just don't pull in a lot of dollars.
09-25-2014 10:52 AM
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Hambone10 Offline
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RE: Non-revenue sport: an example
Obviously there are significant figures that are missing here and/or there are a few making BIG amounts and a few making nothing... otherwise the numbers don't add up... but I understand and agree, George that your intent was not to represent that this was a complete picture. It's also possible that some of the numbers are manipulated... where a portion of the 'conference tv package' is allocated to each sport that is part of the package, regardless of how much is actually directly related to it. In SOME conferences, sports must be sponsored in order to be part of the conference. It may take $1mm to fund some sport your fans aren't interested in, but it gives you access to a $5mm larger conference revenue stream... so how much does it really 'cost'?

I think the point you're trying to make is that it generically takes +/- $400,000 per year to add a sport like lacrosse... and that there are trade-offs for a variety of revenue and expense specifics.

I'm not 'in' on what the popular sports are in the region or in CUSA, especially for women... but That would obviously be a key. If you're talking about a limited equipment sport like cheer... once you go outside about a 3 hour drive, it doesn't really matter expense-wise whether you're flying to El Paso or Durham. Fields also make a difference. Maintaining badminton courts at Rice would be far less expensive than maintaining a dedicated lacrosse field.... or even the additional wear and tear on a 'shared' field.
09-25-2014 11:25 AM
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georgewebb Offline
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RE: Non-revenue sport: an example
(09-25-2014 11:25 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  If you're talking about a limited equipment sport like cheer... once you go outside about a 3 hour drive, it doesn't really matter expense-wise whether you're flying to El Paso or Durham.
...
Fields also make a difference. Maintaining badminton courts at Rice would be far less expensive than maintaining a dedicated lacrosse field.... or even the additional wear and tear on a 'shared' field.

Like I said...

(09-25-2014 09:11 AM)georgewebb Wrote:  ...before people start chiming in with "Yes, but women's softball would have different field expenses" or "Men's soccer would have different travel costs", let me say again: it's only an order-of-magnitude example.
09-25-2014 07:34 PM
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Rick Gerlach Offline
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Post: #5
RE: Non-revenue sport: an example
(09-25-2014 10:52 AM)Converted Rice Wrote:  I would be shocked if the $650,000 was median revenue. That looks more like top 2 revenue to me. I have no facts just gut feeling but I would bet the $205,000 would be closer to median. College sports outside of football and some men's basketball programs just don't pull in a lot of dollars.

"Revenue" may include ear-marked gifts. (I.E., here is my check for $2,000 for the men's soccer program)

$ 650,000 still seems high, but I imagine that at places like Johns Hopkins or Syracuse, there may be significant giving to lacrosse
09-25-2014 11:29 PM
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