Oregon athletics earned the ninth-most revenue in the nation last year

Originally Posted on Emerald Media via UWIRE

The University of Oregon athletic department earned more than $115 million in revenue for the 2012-13 fiscal year, according to USA Today Sports’ latest update to its college athletics spending database.

In fact, Oregon has outpaced just about everyone when it comes to spending and earning since the database was introduced in 2005. The database shows that Oregon is taking home 188 percent more in revenue than it has since the days of Mike Bellotti, Ernie Kent and a non-existent baseball program.

This year, The Ducks were the ninth-highest grossing program in college sports and the highest in the Pac-12 — though there is some plus-minus to consider since private schools like USC and Stanford aren’t required to release their financial information.

2013 marks a return to profitability for the Ducks, who have only broken even annually since the football program made it to the national championship in 2010-11 football season.

The top 10 grossing programs for 2013 are made up of the usual suspects: four SEC schools, three Big 12 schools, two Big Ten schools and Oregon.

Texas earned $165 million, its revenues and expenses rising 85 percent and 75 percent, respectively.

Of the top 10, Alabama is the only one approaching growth similar to Oregon’s since 2005, earning 130 percent more and doubling its spending.

This year has also been the most expensive for the Ducks. In total, the athletic department dropped a hair under $95 million on sports this year. Ballooning coaches salaries and scholarship costs account for much of the spike, spending $35 million on coaches alone in 2013, while the price tag for coaches in 2005 was $9 million — good for a 261 percent growth over nine seasons.

As for this year’s profit, the Ducks banked about $20 million after expenses. The biggest gains came from donor contributions — which shot up 44 percent from last year — to the tune of $46.6 million. That figure still takes a backseat to 2010 when the Ducks were able to net nearly $74 million in donations, good for a 312 percent jump from 2009.

Steadily climbing earnings from ticket sales and licensing fees have also helped. In that time, proceeds from ticket sales have doubled and licensing revenues have risen 230 percent.

Though those numbers may be jarring, the database also shows that only a relative sliver of those expenses this year came from outside sources. Oregon ranked near the bottom — 217 out of 230 schools — in the portion of an athletic department’s costs paid for with student fees or support from the state or university at large. Two percent of the Ducks’ budget was subsidized, the lowest portion in the Pac-12.

Costs of buildings have also been a big reason for the bill’s growth spurt. In 2010, buildings and grounds expenses hovered around $10 million, then spiked to $24.4 million in 2012 and $25 million last year.

Scholarship costs have doubled in the same window as well, from $5 million to $10 million.

Read more here: http://dailyemerald.com/2014/06/08/oregon-athletics-earned-the-ninth-most-revenue-in-the-nation-last-year/
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