Hartford Business Journal

14 Hartford Business Journal • October 14, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com I n a near-empty luxury box overlooking Rentschler Field a couple hours before the UConn football team's late- August season home opener, Athletic Director David Benedict stood and was frank about what he thinks is largely behind the team's falling attendance and waning revenues in recent years. "We have not had a winning sea- son since 2011," Benedict said. "It's a long time to go without having a winning season, and you need to give your fans hope, and certainly tonight we hope to do that." The Huskies would later pull off a narrow 24-21 victory over New York's Wagner College, a small liberal-arts school that plays in a second-tier football conference and ended last season with a 4-7 record. Since then, the Huskies dropped four straight games to begin the season at 1-4. The Wagner home opener kicked off UConn athletics' final season in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). The univer- sity announced earlier this year the Huskies will move back to the Big East, a conference that includes higher- profile basketball schools that are geographically closer to Con- necticut and more natural rivals. The move, which will cost the school $17 million in AAC exit fees, does not include football, which will be- come an inde- pendent program for the foresee- able future. UConn's re- entry into the Big East puts the state's highest-profile sports fran- chise at a financial crossroads. Despite numerous national cham- pionships in men's and women's basketball over the years, UConn's athletics department is a big money loser, having run a nearly $41 mil- lion deficit in 2018 alone (although two analysts said that number could be inflated depending on the ac- counting methods used). Rejoining the Big East confer- ence aims to sure up the athletic department's finances, but don't look for UConn sports to break even anytime soon, Benedict said. And there are no plans to elimi- nate the football program, which has been UConn's major cost center in recent years. The conference change has nu- merous financial implications that will likely impact UConn sports for years to come, according to stake- holders and analysts. If the athletics department can't narrow its deficit, it means it will have to continue to rely more on institutional support, at a time when funding for higher education remains tenuous. On the plus-side, the move brings UConn men's and women's basket- ball teams into a conference popu- lated by historic rivals that should garner more fan interest. Those teams are also closer to Storrs, which will cut down travel time and costs. On the other hand, a homeless UConn football team will now have to schedule all of its own games, and it's unclear whether UConn's successful basketball teams can step up as bigger revenue-generators to prop up the football program. "There is some money in basket- ball, but the huge money — and particularly the huge money that schools get to control rather than the NCAA — is in football," said Vic- tor Matheson, an economics profes- sor at College of the Holy Cross. Last year, UConn's men's bas- ketball team brought in about $8.5 million in revenue, while the football team earned $19 million, according to the athletic depart- ment's annual financial filings. Building a schedule UConn board of trustees member Tom Ritter, a former state lawmaker who currently works as an attor- ney and lobbyist, said he sees only benefits to the Big East move: A more competitive schedule guaranteed for its basketball program, with the opportunity for a football schedule that will draw more fans, lead to bet- ter recruitment and ultimately pull UConn football out of a decade-long rut in both on-field performance and off-field revenue-generation. Ritter said he thinks the school's football team is in prime position to schedule games with high-profile teams as an independent school. Conference Wager UConn's re-entry into the Big East puts the state's highest-profile sports franchise at a financial crossroads HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER UConn Athletic Director David Benedict is overseeing the university's return to the Big East conference, which will force its football program to operate independently, outside of any conference. Other expenses $7,705,153 Facilities and equipment $5,073,286 Recruiting $1,401,867 Competition guarantees $1,392,565 Medical $873,463 Support & Admin. Compensation $20,010,947 Coach compensation $17,071,654 Athletic student aid $16,406,406 Game expenses and travel $13,186,479 UConn athletic department expenses (FY 2017) Source: College Athletics Financial Information Database

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