Can an athletic department go broke?

[SRQ]

Say what you like about DW, but I cannot imagine being in his position today.  Less than a decade ago he oversees his athletic program's move into the big leagues.  The media money immediately grows substantially, but with an almost certain leap into the $15-$17M per year range.  Plans are made, facilities are built on leverage, salaries are boosted.  And now his reality is that he will be working with less money than he could have possibly dreamt in his worst nightmare.

 

What realistic moves can he make?

[charsibb]

Say what you like about DW, but I cannot imagine being in his position today.  Less than a decade ago he oversees his athletic program's move into the big leagues.  The media money immediately grows substantially, but with an almost certain leap into the $15-$17M per year range.  Plans are made, facilities are built on leverage, salaries are boosted.  And now his reality is that he will be working with less money than he could have possibly dreamt in his worst nightmare.

 

What realistic moves can he make?

 

Apparently Maryland was contemplating some form of bankruptcy. They'd cut several programs, and the callup to the B1G saved them.

 

Maybe the ACC will save us...

[slick1ru2]

You have to know how the debt is structured. Is it tied to the student athletic fee? How much TV revenue was projected to be used to pay it off vs ticket sales, merchandising and corporate sponsorships/branding and donations. Its a pretty wide open discussion without specifics. Remember there is a large sum to be split between the schools too. But here is the thing, The Big East came to Tampa and saw the then current commitment to modernize the facilities along with future plans. This was already going on when USF moved to the Big East so they must have had plans on how to pay for these upgrades before they were getting Big East TV money, at least for some of the capital improvements.

 

This being said, I don't expect an OCS for a long time, if ever.

Edited February 23, 2013 by slick1ru2

[BullFan98]

You have to know how the debt is structured. Is it tied to the student athletic fee? How much TV revenue was projected to be used to pay it off vs ticket sales, merchandising and corporate sponsorships/branding and donations. Its a pretty wide open discussion without specifics. Remember there is a large sum to be split between the schools too. But here is the thing, The Big East came to Tampa and saw the then current commitment to modernize the facilities along with future plans. This was already going on when USF moved to the Big East so they must have had plans on how to pay for these upgrades before they were getting Big East TV money, at least for some of the capital improvements.

 

This being said, I don't expect an OCS for a long time, if ever.

I think that is being short sighted.  Don't expect an OCS for a long time, but the landscape changes very quickly.  I think 10-20 years we will have an OCS.  We are a large growing university.  In my opinion, down the road we will earn our way into a more lucrative deal.

[slick1ru2]

You have to know how the debt is structured. Is it tied to the student athletic fee? How much TV revenue was projected to be used to pay it off vs ticket sales, merchandising and corporate sponsorships/branding and donations. Its a pretty wide open discussion without specifics. Remember there is a large sum to be split between the schools too. But here is the thing, The Big East came to Tampa and saw the then current commitment to modernize the facilities along with future plans. This was already going on when USF moved to the Big East so they must have had plans on how to pay for these upgrades before they were getting Big East TV money, at least for some of the capital improvements.

 

This being said, I don't expect an OCS for a long time, if ever.

I think that is being short sighted.  Don't expect an OCS for a long time, but the landscape changes very quickly.  I think 10-20 years we will have an OCS.  We are a large growing university.  In my opinion, down the road we will earn our way into a more lucrative deal.

 

It may be short sighted to someone that wants an OCS. But many don't see the need. Look at Pitt, they had an OCS until 1999 and abandoned it. Has it hurt their program? Not in the least. And their stadium location was right in the middle of campus. This was said by the admin at Pitt prior to abandoning their OCS and moving to Heinz Field,

 

Nordenberg said he was aware that the talk of moving Pitt football

to "the world-class facility soon to be built on the North Side would

prompt a negative response, grounded principally in emotion, from some."

He said he and others in the administration "know those feelings well,

and they have been a constant point of reference in our discussions.

"At the same time, we cannot responsibly permit those feelings, however

understandable and well-intentioned, to pre-empt our reasoned evaluation

of other relevant considerations."

That is pretty much the way USF needs to look at it. What makes the most sense from a practical perspective? And acknowledge those that want an OCS, principally due to emotional reasons, but don't let it permit them to sway a decision on more important, practical considerations.

 

Edited February 23, 2013 by slick1ru2

[Dogma]

 

You have to know how the debt is structured. Is it tied to the student athletic fee? How much TV revenue was projected to be used to pay it off vs ticket sales, merchandising and corporate sponsorships/branding and donations. Its a pretty wide open discussion without specifics. Remember there is a large sum to be split between the schools too. But here is the thing, The Big East came to Tampa and saw the then current commitment to modernize the facilities along with future plans. This was already going on when USF moved to the Big East so they must have had plans on how to pay for these upgrades before they were getting Big East TV money, at least for some of the capital improvements.

 

This being said, I don't expect an OCS for a long time, if ever.

I think that is being short sighted.  Don't expect an OCS for a long time, but the landscape changes very quickly.  I think 10-20 years we will have an OCS.  We are a large growing university.  In my opinion, down the road we will earn our way into a more lucrative deal.

 

It may be short sighted to someone that wants an OCS. But many don't see the need. Look at Pitt, they had an OCS until 1999 and abandoned it. Has it hurt their program? Not in the least. And their stadium location was right in the middle of campus. This was said by the admin at Pitt prior to abandoning their OCS and moving to Heinz Field,

 

> 

Nordenberg said he was aware that the talk of moving Pitt football

to "the world-class facility soon to be built on the North Side would

prompt a negative response, grounded principally in emotion, from some."

He said he and others in the administration "know those feelings well,

and they have been a constant point of reference in our discussions.

"At the same time, we cannot responsibly permit those feelings, however

understandable and well-intentioned, to pre-empt our reasoned evaluation

of other relevant considerations."

That is pretty much the way USF needs to look at it. What makes the most sense from a practical perspective? And acknowledge those that want an OCS, principally due to emotional reasons, but don't let it permit them to sway a decision on more important, practical considerations.

 

 

 

That comparison to USF is like apples to oranges:

Heinz field is less than 5 miles to campus. 

Plus their stadium is set up to be dual use (colors scheme matches both teams, the university has their own locker rooms, the Coca-Cola Great Hall has Pitt U memorabilia as well, etc) 

[slick1ru2]

 

 

You have to know how the debt is structured. Is it tied to the student athletic fee? How much TV revenue was projected to be used to pay it off vs ticket sales, merchandising and corporate sponsorships/branding and donations. Its a pretty wide open discussion without specifics. Remember there is a large sum to be split between the schools too. But here is the thing, The Big East came to Tampa and saw the then current commitment to modernize the facilities along with future plans. This was already going on when USF moved to the Big East so they must have had plans on how to pay for these upgrades before they were getting Big East TV money, at least for some of the capital improvements.

 

This being said, I don't expect an OCS for a long time, if ever.

I think that is being short sighted.  Don't expect an OCS for a long time, but the landscape changes very quickly.  I think 10-20 years we will have an OCS.  We are a large growing university.  In my opinion, down the road we will earn our way into a more lucrative deal.

 

It may be short sighted to someone that wants an OCS. But many don't see the need. Look at Pitt, they had an OCS until 1999 and abandoned it. Has it hurt their program? Not in the least. And their stadium location was right in the middle of campus. This was said by the admin at Pitt prior to abandoning their OCS and moving to Heinz Field,

 

>> 

Nordenberg said he was aware that the talk of moving Pitt football

to "the world-class facility soon to be built on the North Side would

prompt a negative response, grounded principally in emotion, from some."

He said he and others in the administration "know those feelings well,

and they have been a constant point of reference in our discussions.

"At the same time, we cannot responsibly permit those feelings, however

understandable and well-intentioned, to pre-empt our reasoned evaluation

of other relevant considerations."<

/p>

lockquote>

That is pretty much the way USF needs to look at it. What makes the most sense from a practical perspective? And acknowledge those that want an OCS, principally due to emotional reasons, but don't let it permit them to sway a decision on more important, practical considerations.

 

 

That comparison to USF is like apples to oranges:

Heinz field is less than 5 miles to campus. 

Plus their stadium is set up to be dual use (colors scheme matches both teams, the university has their own locker rooms, the Coca-Cola Great Hall has Pitt U memorabilia as well, etc) 

 

 

And all of those things happened over time and could happen at Ray Jay when it comes up for its next major renovation.  And USF just got a new locker room.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2013 by slick1ru2

[SattyBull]

No chance in hell Ray Jay becomes a neutral stadium.

[slick1ru2]

No chance in hell Ray Jay becomes a neutral stadium.

 

Or the yellow seats at Heinz field turning blue when Pitt plays. And saying that Heinz field is 5 miles from Pitt. Ray Jay is just over double that from USF. Don't make it sound like its in the next county.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2013 by slick1ru2

[slick1ru2]

At least from this angle, Heinz field shows more of its NFL side than Ray Jay.