(10-16-2019 12:34 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  SDSU has revenue streams that UCSD just cannot match.

SDSU has, and will have over the next 30 years, astronomical football-related expenses that every D-I school without football, including UCSD, doesn't have.

Their operating budget for football alone is probably close to $15 million/year. SDSU is also on the verge of buying the stadium site from the city. They'll pay less than it's actually worth, for sure, but they'll still pay $70-100 million for the land, and then about $250 million (if they can keep a reasonable lid on costs) to build a new stadium and tear down and remove the old one. They will almost certainly issue bonds to cover those costs, and the annual payment on the bonds, as a guesstimate, will be at least $12 million/year. Add in the annual football-related costs, and that's $27 million or more spent on football every year until those bonds are paid off. SDSU's revenue from athletics, i.e. ticket sales + donations + media rights, conference revenue, etc. was about $29 million last year. Subtract those football expenses from that, and they will be barely above net zero every year, with all of SDSU's other sports left to be paid for by student fees and university funds.

SDSU's 50-year head start in Division I is a big advantage in athletics. (It will be a 55-year head start by the time UCSD is a full member of Division I.) But, revenue and upcoming expenses related to football are not an advantage for SDSU compared to D-I schools that don't have football programs.