Most schools support their athletic programs by the success of the football program. For many colleges and universities across the nation, the revenue generated during football season will make or break their program. Most schools do not make a lot of money year round and will often implement a football program. The potential alone makes the endeavor worth taking.
According to the USA Today, Florida generated almost 21 million dollars in ticket sales alone for the 2008-09 season. Each school in the NCAA receives an allotment based upon post-season appearances by the school in all sports and by any schools of the same conference. Florida is a school in the Southeastern Conference. As a member school, they received 15 million dollars from post-season tournament appearances and NCAA conference distributions. Their largest revenue produced is contributions, which totaled almost 41 million dollars. All together these sources brought in 79.9 percent of the money Florida's athletic programs earned in 2008-09.
The projected ticket sales for football leading up to the 2008-09 season were over 17 million dollars. This means that football tickets alone account for 18 percent of the revenue generated, and possibly more. Florida won the Bowl Championship Series trophy that season, which means as the season progressed, they possibly surpassed their prediction in sales. Regardless of this, seven home games were projected to bring in 2.5 million dollars in tickets alone.
This is the story many athletic departments want to tell. The sad truth is that unless they are selling tickets in the same manner as a school like Florida, the money is coming from other sources like student fees and institutional support. This does not make nearly as much money for the season as schools like Florida may make by halftime of the season opener. If you love the school you cheer for, be sure to buy some tickets for the gridiron this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I really want to know what you think.
Thanks for reading!