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Link: Budget of the Alabama Athletic Department

RTR91

RTR91

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Link

Bill Battle is only a few months into his tenure as the University of Alabama's athletics director, but he quickly discovered that running an athletic department isn't exactly running a business.

Battle studied UA's athletic budget and realized collegiate athletics has an unbalanced ledger.

"This is an interesting business if you can call it a business, which I guess it is," said Battle, 71, who was hired in March to replace the late Mal Moore, who was at the time hospitalized with a pulmonary condition. "It's like running a company that has 21 divisions and two of them are profitable."

The windfall from football and men's basketball, the only sports with incomes that exceed expenses, fund the other sports - but the model isn't quite as simple as that.

"About half your revenue comes from the business of sports and event management, which I guess is the business side of our business," Battle said. "Most of the other half comes from contributions and donations and Tide Pride and so forth, which is different from any business I've ever been in. That has been interesting."
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CullmanTide

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That article along with the link at the bottom is really eye opening. It is easy to see baseball needs more attention and presents the best opportunity for improvement.
 
78Alum

78Alum

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Aug 1, 2007
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With all of the excitement and success of Women's Gymastics, it is surprising that it is not profitable. However, I do know that they keep the ticket prices really low ($5?) to fill the seats. It is a great time to be a Tide Fan!
 
RTR91

RTR91

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78Alum said:
With all of the excitement and success of Women's Gymastics, it is surprising that it is not profitable. However, I do know that they keep the ticket prices really low ($5?) to fill the seats. It is a great time to be a Tide Fan!
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Ticket prices are low, and travel is expensive.
 
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chittlins

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Baseball can produce revenue or at least be kinda revenue neutral at many schools, see LSU and Arkansas for example. But that's also because of the schollie limits that keep that cost down. I know that LSU and now Arkansas take advantage of lottery subsidized tuition aid for in state kids. Womens basketball can be profitable as well, see Tenn. I figure women's gymnastics is limited due to relatively small number of meets.
 
GP for Bama

GP for Bama

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If the television money that all SEC schools receive for basketball is removed, then I suspect mens basketball is break-even.
 
C

CullmanTide

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chittlins said:
Baseball can produce revenue or at least be kinda revenue neutral at many schools, see LSU and Arkansas for example. But that's also because of the schollie limits that keep that cost down. I know that LSU and now Arkansas take advantage of lottery subsidized tuition aid for in state kids. Womens basketball can be profitable as well, see Tenn. I figure women's gymnastics is limited due to relatively small number of meets.
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You can add Mississippi State to that list. Baseball there is thriving and last I heard their stadium is about to receive renovations. They draw very well.
 
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RT3413

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The big gap and low-hanging fruit to me is the $800k revenue gap between men's and women's running track. I also think the AD could do more to promote golf... we've got championship teams and there's not even an email sent out advertising tournaments or championships... would be fairly easy to do.
 
Crimson1967

Crimson1967

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What revenue do some of these sports like rowing have other than "money football gives them"? I read once it is free to go to a soccer game, do any of the others charge and how does rowing make money? I know the river is free but you still have to maintain the boats and pay the coach.
 
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