USA Today released an interesting report this month detailing the revenues, expenses and overall finances of 227 collegiate programs' athletic departments from 2018-19.
The following statistics reveal where the Michigan Wolverines' athletic department fits into the equation, and is especially intriguing as a whole when considering the financial difficulties numerous colleges are facing from an athletic standpoint during these uncertain times.
Michigan was fourth in the nation in total revenue from 2018-19, at $197,820,410. The only three programs higher on the list were Texas ($223,879,781), Texas A&M ($212,748,002) and Ohio State ($210,548,239).
The USA Today report defined its total revenue categories as ticket sales, contributions, rights/licensing, student fees, school funds and "other."
The Maize and Blue were third nationally, meanwhile, in total expenses, with a figure of $190,952,175. Ohio State ($220,572,956) and Texas ($204,234,897) were the only two athletic departments that had higher expense totals, with the category being defined as coaching/staff, scholarships, facilities/overhead and "other."
An interesting observation from the report revealed that Michigan had $261,773 of its revenue allocated (0.1 percent), while the three other programs with higher revenues — Texas, Texas A&M and Ohio State — had none of theirs allocated.
Non-Power Conference schools all across the country have been forced to cancel some of their varsity sports during these financially-challenging times, with a few Midwest examples being Cincinnati canceling men's soccer, Central Michigan eliminating men's track and field and Bowling Green discontinuing its baseball program.
The financial crisis has hit the Power Conferences as well, with Stanford cutting 11 varsity sports standing as the primary example.
It's fair to expect the situation to get worse for many of the smaller athletic departments around the country, especially when considering the Ivy League, Patriot League and Colonial Athletic Association (just to name a few) have already announced they will not be playing any fall sports.
Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez shed even more light on the matter this week and the dire impact a football-less autumn could have, when it was revealed that the Badgers' athletic department is projecting revenue losses between $60-70 million if the program plays a 10-game conference-only schedule, as is currently the plan.
Wisconsin's revenue losses are expected to surpass $100 million if the season is canceled altogether.
In an open letter Alvarez penned to Badger fans, he said he "believes we will reach a monumental crossroads in the coming days," when concrete decisions on the 2020 collegiate football season are expected to be made over the next two weeks.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook
