In a letter posted to the Wisconsin Athletics website on Thursday, the school’s former head football coach and current athletics director Barry Alvarez warned that without football, the school could be facing $100 million in lost revenue in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. That would represent more than 71% of the school’s budget of $140 million.
The school has already lost $12 million in revenue to date, and Wisconsin projects that with a Big-Ten only, limited-attendance football schedule this fall, which is almost a given, that $60-$70 million in revenue losses are already in the future.
Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium holds 80,321 fans, and the school ranked 16th in the NCAA last season with 76,472 fans, on average, at home games.
In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, Wisconsin had the 11th-highest revenue of any athletics department in the country at just over $157 million over $154 million+ in expenses. The school was one of the first top athletics departments in the country to announce furloughs and to announce that its highest-earners would take a pay cut as the school worked to reduce their budget and close the gap on revenue amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Alvarez, the department’s 3rd-highest earner at $1,550,000.04 in salary, took a pay cut of about $232,500 as part of that program.
A $100 million loss in revenue does not necessarily mean that the department will be $100 million in the red. No college football season would also result in a dramatic decrease in expenses, and the school has already delayed, for example, the renovation of the seating in the south end zone of the schools’ football stadium. But, a reduction in %71 of the program’s revenue would almost undoubtedly impact other sports’ budgets, including swimming & diving. The school is currently without a head diving coach after Landon Marzullo resigned when his wife got a “killer job offer” that took his family elsewhere.
As Alvarez alludes to in his letter, “We have taken many steps, but we will have to do much more.”
While Wisconsin’s announcement is the headline-catcher, the impacts of a football-free-fall won’t be isolated to Madison, either.
“The reality is that this financial crisis threatens our ability to sustain the success we’ve celebrated,” Alvarez says. “It threatens our pride in what we’ve built. It threatens our position in college athletics.”
But amid a letter of doom-and-gloom, Alvarez ends on a positive note:
“What gives me hope is that, as Badgers, our strength has always been in our people and our willingness to work toward a common goal. That drives my belief that we can overcome this tremendous challenge — and emerge stronger than ever.”
Barry Alvarez’s Full Letter to Wisconsin Fans is below:
Dear fellow Badgers,
I just finished another meeting with the Big Ten Commissioner and conference athletic directors, and we continue to plan every way possible to safely return to play. We meet every morning, and as soon I have information about how our seasons will look this fall, I promise to share that with you.
Regardless of what our fall season looks like, we are facing a great financial challenge. I don’t think it’s an embellishment to say the experience we love as Badgers and the legacy of our extraordinary athletic department is at risk.
To this point, we have taken many steps over the past few months to minimize the impact of a cancelled winter postseason and spring season. We have instituted pay decreases for our top 25 earners and workshare furloughs for all employees, put a freeze on almost all hiring, restricted travel, limited to essential-only spending and announced the delay of the South End Zone renovation project. These steps have allowed us to avoid the tough decisions other schools have already had to make, like eliminating sports or laying off employees.
We have taken many steps, but we will have to do much more.
Our fall season will look nothing like we are accustomed to. Due to the current challenges, we are facing a potential financial revenue loss of more than $100 million from our $140 million budget.
Our commitment to achieving excellence and supporting our student-athletes will never change. For decades, we have all played a part in making the Wisconsin Badgers a national power. That is a legacy we are proud to pass on and cannot allow to fade.
Just like my children and grandchildren have been proud to call themselves Badgers, my hope is that the whole world is still watching as my great-grandchildren get the chance to Jump Around. I know many of you feel the same way.
The reality is that this financial crisis threatens our ability to sustain the success we’ve celebrated. It threatens our pride in what we’ve built. It threatens our position in college athletics.
I believe we will reach a monumental crossroads in the coming days. We will have two choices: remain at the head of the class or fall behind. Everything we pride ourselves on — competing at the highest level, developing world-class student-athletes and raising trophies — relies on our ability to financially support our student-athletes.
What gives me hope is that, as Badgers, our strength has always been in our people and our willingness to work toward a common goal. That drives my belief that we can overcome this tremendous challenge — and emerge stronger than ever.
On, Wisconsin!
I don’t understand what schools are thinking. They can try as hard as they want to get teams playing, kids in classes, and fans coming to games but it’s not going to work. Schools are just going to live without the income for a year. Pick it back up next year. Kids in college do not care they’re going to go to parties and they’re going to try to live a normal life and one person getting sick means the entire campus is going to get sick. Going to games, one person shows up sick and walk past thousand of people in the stadium and all those people they come in close contact with and breathe on are going to… Read more »
They are thinking they don’t want a 71% reduction on revenue that will take several years to recover from if things are back to normal next year. Give up 71% of your household income and you maybe able to relate.
I’m guessing you’re not a financial planner or an accountant, but if I come across a job posting where they need someone to throw in the towel and give up I’ll keep you mind. 🙂
they need Gus Duggerton to sign a long-term school friendly contract
How do you do fellow AWL?
On Wisconsin! Proud to see the new pool’s progress and no sports being cut 😉
Read the ESPN article… They have a $190 million surplus. When they do cut sports and they will, swimming will be lucky if it survives. Whitney Hite is the only reason the new facility is being built and hopefully that is enough to save the program.
Whitney Hite? Is he still involved in Badger aquatics?
Ouch. They are from from alone, but still – ouch.