Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • October 14, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 15 "What we're finding is that the Power Five conferences are looking for schools like UConn to fill up their schedules, and they're will- ing to pay a lot of money," Ritter said. As an ex- ample, he noted that Clemson, last year's col- lege football national cham- pion, has agreed to host UConn in 2021 and pay the school $1.2 million, which will be the largest single-game guarantee in the football program's history. "We're going to go from a football school that had no rivalries in the AAC to a program that will actu- ally bring in some revenue through some of the big schools that we're playing," Ritter said. The football program, he added, will also have to focus on book- ing games with other independent teams, like Army and Navy, as well as nearby schools with large fan bases like Boston College and UMass. Scheduling a full season will be a challenge, particularly next year, said Benedict. In the AAC, UConn had eight in-confer- ence games, and had to schedule four out-of- conference matchups in a 12-game season. UConn already scheduled its out-of-confer- ence games for the 2020 season — with UMass, Illinois, Maine and Indiana all on the docket — but needs to find another eight games next year, when other teams are thinking about 2023 schedules. "Really, it's about trying to iden- tify opportunities where someone may be interested in working with you, because maybe they'd like to change something on their sched- ule," Benedict said. Meantime, when it comes to the athletic department ever breaking even, Ritter and Benedict agree that while it's something to aim for, it's not realistic. Benedict said complete financial self-sufficiency is exceedingly rare for college athletic programs, most of which are dependant on institutional contributions and student fees. The main goal is to narrow the deficit as much as possible, he said. According to a financial filing with the NCAA last year, UConn ran a $40.6 million deficit. That number is calculated by comparing the amount spent ($81 million) with revenues ($40.4 million), not including money provided through institutional sup- port ($30 million) and student fees ($8.5 million) That deficit calculation, however, may not paint a reliable picture, said Andy Schwartz, an economist at the University of California Berke- ley's Haas School of Business. That's because included in expenditures is the value of scholarships, which can significant- ly increase total costs, even though the school isn't actually spending any money. In fiscal 2015, the year be- fore Benedict stepped in as athletic director, UConn's total revenue without institutional contributions or student fees was about $44 million, while expenses were about $71.9 mil- lion, according to an NCAA fil- ing. Institutional support was just under $17.9 million and student-fee revenue was $10.2 million. Meanwhile, overall UConn ath- letic department ticket sales have seesawed in recent years, totaling $9.8 million in 2017, down from $11.5 million in 2010. Hoops hopes Basketball is a far different story from football. Since UConn an- nounced its return to the Big East, season ticket sales have been tick- ing higher, Benedict said. "There's many people that maybe dropped their tickets that have come back, there are people that have bought more tickets, (and) there's a bunch of new people that have never owned tickets before, that have come on board," Bene- dict said. "It's been a signifi- cant bump for us already in a very short period of time." Ritter said Big East conference teams will draw more fans to Storrs and Hartford's XL Center, which will also help recruit top-tier basketball talent. The UConn women's basketball team last year actually sold more season tickets than the men's team: 8,551 vs. 7,163, Benedict said. In the 2012-2013 season — the last season UConn was in the Big East — women's and men's bas- ketball sold 9,136 and 9,406 season tickets, respectively, he said, adding that he hopes to exceed those levels going forward. So far this year, UConn has sold or renewed more than 8,000 season tickets for men's and women's bas- ketball, which is slightly above sales during the same period last year. Broadcast deal There is also significant TV money at stake with the conference change. Beginning July 1, when UConn officially joins the Big East, the basketball program will begin receiv- ing payments from a 12-year, $500 million TV deal the conference signed in 2013 with Fox Sports, a Big East spokeswoman confirmed. UConn won't receive any retroactive money, but will get payments equal to all oth- er conference teams moving forward. The Big East would not disclose the amount of the per-school payout. UConn is leaving behind a 12- year, $1 billion TV deal the AAC recently signed with ESPN. Bene- dict said that deal overall, which pays conference teams about $7 million annually, was a good one, but it left concerns about whether it would provide enough coverage of UConn's basketball teams. ESPN will broadcast many AAC games on its new ESPN-plus digital network, which requires an additional paid subscription and currently has limited viewership. But that TV deal had little to do with the decision to switch confer- ences, Benedict said. UConn also recently signed a 15-year media deal with Learfield IMG College, which guarantees the university at least $93 million over the course of the contract, and 100 percent of the profits in the first three years. The company has partnered with UConn athletics since 1986, and, in addition to selling corporate spon- sorships and handling radio broad- casts of UConn's games, produces the popular "Holding Court with Geno Auriemma" podcast, featur- ing the women's basketball coach. The IMG deal is an exciting one that could open up other new me- dia opportunities, Benedict said. But, as he prepared for the 2019 season opening football game in Au- gust, neither that, nor the Big East move were on Benedict's mind. At that moment, he was focused on the game and season ahead. "What we're focused on is this year, our final year as a member of the [AAC]," Benedict said. PHOTO | HBJ FILE UConn's move to the Big East will put its men's and women's basketball teams in a conference with higher-profile and geographically closer teams. Tom Ritter, Member, UConn Board of Trustees UConn athletic department ticket sales revenues Year Revenue 2017 $9.8M 2016 $10.4M 2015 $9.9M 2014 $10.7M 2013 $8.9M 2012 $11.1M 2011 $10.6M 2010 $11.5M Source: College Athletics Financial Information Database

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