SEC Great Football and $$$: tell that to Tennessee

[arbitragegls]

The good news, Univ of TN an SEC team, has athletic department reserves of nearly $2,000,000 but unfortunately it has nearly $200,000,000 of debt. The causes:
1. Football team losing in 4 of 5 years
2. Attendance way down at games--no one comes to see a loosing team
3. Spending that got out of hand

Hey, B1G...here is another major university like Maryland...please take Tennessee off our hands--SEC.


http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...nessee-athletic-department-battling-huge-debt

and another link:
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/01/28/Colleges/Tennessee.aspx

 

[cusetown1]

The BIG trims the ACC's fat, we should thank them.

 

[MikeSU02]

Stealing my thunder!

http://syracusefan.com/threads/ot-at-tennessee-big-orange-battles-red-ink.43295/

 

[arbitragegls]

Stealing my thunder!

http://syracusefan.com/threads/ot-at-tennessee-big-orange-battles-red-ink.43295/

I differ..I differ...good find! Remember the quick and the hungry...lol

 

[All4SU]

3. Spending that got out of hand

It's a shame. Recruits have to drive Hyundais now.

 

[AirForceOrange]

It's a shame. Recruits have to drive Hyundais now.

Hey!! What wrong with Hyundais??!! They make some nice cars now...some are fairly expensive, $30-50K range!!

 

[MassOrange]

In 2012, their average attendance was DOWN to just under 90,000 per game.

And yet they somehow owe $200 million.

Unreal.

 

[javadoc]

The good news, Univ of TN an SEC team, has athletic department reserves of nearly $2,000,000 but unfortunately it has nearly $200,000,000 of debt. The causes:
1. Football team losing in 4 of 5 years
2. Attendance way down at games--no one comes to see a loosing team
3. Spending that got out of hand

As another poster pointed out, their 2012 attendance average was 90K. I have no sympathy for a program that can't make things work when "nobody" is 90 freaking thousand paid seats. None.

I'd also like to know what the hell they are buying if "spending got out of hand" and they're in the hole for $200M. I see stadium renovations listed - I sure hope they got a brand new shiny stadium for all that!

 

[longtimefan]

It's a shame. Recruits have to drive Hyundais now.

Plus, they've really downgraded their hostess program.

 

[javadoc]

Plus, they've really downgraded their hostess program.

From barbies to twinkies.

 

[UBSU]

I found this article in Forbes before the holidays regarding the top ten NCAA Football Programs in regard to valuation and they listed UT as #9.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emdm45lieh/11-tennessee-volunteers/

So it appears that UT is able to pull-in the revenues, especially with 90K fans at each home game and ticket prices steadily going up each year, but from a budget standpoint, can't balance their books. Also, those were huge expenditures for just stadium renovations at Neyland Stadium (over $130M).

Seems like a catch-22, when you need a big contact to get a big-name coach in the SEC to win football games - yet when he doesn't win, you have to pay big bucks to buy-out his contract.

At least SU didn't have to pay Marrone to leave to go to the Bills, so we saved some money there...

 

[Millhouse]

The good news, Univ of TN an SEC team, has athletic department reserves of nearly $2,000,000 but unfortunately it has nearly $200,000,000 of debt. The causes:
1. Football team losing in 4 of 5 years
2. Attendance way down at games--no one comes to see a loosing team
3. Spending that got out of hand

Hey, B1G...here is another major university like Maryland...please take Tennessee off our hands--SEC.


http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...nessee-athletic-department-battling-huge-debt

and another link:
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/01/28/Colleges/Tennessee.aspx

[/quote]

this article is pretty stupid.

"A series of bad coaching hires and subsequent buyouts across the major revenue sports also played a factor in the rising debt, not to mention a frenzy of spending on capital projects."

What are those capital projects? Writer doesn't bother to say. Buyouts pale in comparison.

I have huge debt relative to my reserves too because of capital projects aka my regular little house. whoopdeedoo

 

[Chip]

this article is pretty stupid.

"A series of bad coaching hires and subsequent buyouts across the major revenue sports also played a factor in the rising debt, not to mention a frenzy of spending on capital projects."

What are those capital projects? Writer doesn't bother to say. Buyouts pale in comparison.

I have huge debt relative to my reserves too because of capital projects aka my regular little house. whoopdeedoo

Always wonder what these capital projects are too. It's not like these schools are building new stadiums. Same one they've had for awhile. Put in some new luxury boxes? Can't even put a pricetag on something like that. This is a school that gets SEC money, gets 80k paying a pretty good ticket price on a bad day. I'm sure has more private donations than a school like SU could ever imagine. It's a public university, so I don't really know how that works but all I hear is how it's harder for private schools. So what is their real problem? And if they have a real problem, why hasn't someone foreclosed on the SU Athletic Department by now? Hoops ticket sales really driving our bus that much?

I wish I could see every school's books. Because it makes no sense.

 

[javadoc]

Always wonder what these capital projects are too. It's not like these schools are building new stadiums. Same one they've had for awhile. Put in some new luxury boxes? Can't even put a pricetag on something like that. This is a school that gets SEC money, gets 80k paying a pretty good ticket price on a bad day. I'm sure has more private donations than a school like SU could ever imagine. It's a public university, so I don't really know how that works but all I hear is how it's harder for private schools. So what is their real problem? And if they have a real problem, why hasn't someone foreclosed on the SU Athletic Department by now? Hoops ticket sales really driving our bus that much?

I wish I could see every school's books. Because it makes no sense.

Exactly. I really want to see what all that debt got them, in terms of capital projects. Renovating an old stadium, in a state like Tennessee, costs that much? Imagine how much it would cost in NY or CA.

 

[Jaka]

They just built a brand new practice facility. Don't know if its finished.

 

[retro44]

wow a 9.5% sales tax plus a 5% entertainment tax on the tickets

 

[Millhouse]

Always wonder what these capital projects are too. It's not like these schools are building new stadiums. Same one they've had for awhile. Put in some new luxury boxes? Can't even put a pricetag on something like that. This is a school that gets SEC money, gets 80k paying a pretty good ticket price on a bad day. I'm sure has more private donations than a school like SU could ever imagine. It's a public university, so I don't really know how that works but all I hear is how it's harder for private schools. So what is their real problem? And if they have a real problem, why hasn't someone foreclosed on the SU Athletic Department by now? Hoops ticket sales really driving our bus that much?

I wish I could see every school's books. Because it makes no sense.

probably the easiest way for the administrators to line their pockets. get a huge loan for some vague projects, pay it off years after you'll be long gone, take your distribution which is a tiny fraction of the total but huge for the individual

 

[SUFan44]

Isn't that embezzlement? Don't people go to jail for that?