Nevada athletics posts an almost $600,000 deficit in FY24; UNLV digs a $20.9 million hole

The Nevada athletic department, despite recent bolstered support in university funding, ran a deficit of almost $600,000 during the 2024 fiscal year.

Nevada Sports Net obtained the Wolf Pack's 2024 fiscal year financial report through a public records request, which shows the Wolf Pack producing $53,329,304 in revenue against $53,916,557 in expenses. That marks the largest budget in program history, more than $4.4 million higher than the prior year. However, Nevada turned a deficit of $587,253 in fiscal year 2024. It is the sixth time since 2010 that Nevada athletics has run a deficit of $500,000 or more.

However, Nevada's 2024 fiscal year deficit is tame compared to that of UNLV, which is expected to report to the Board of Regents this week a $20.891 million deficit in 2024. The Rebels annual fiscal year report included revenue of $50,796,087 against expenses of $71,687,510 in fiscal year 2024, creating a $20,891,423 deficit. UNLV began the year with a $6,023,848 self-reported deficit from the previous fiscal year, building a two-year deficit of almost $27 million.

The Nevada Wolf Pack's hole is not as large. Starting in fiscal year 2021, the university added an additional $10 million in annual funding to Wolf Pack athletics, first in COVID-related state and federal government funding and most recently in money generated to a royalty agreement on deposits taken out of the Marigold Mine. Despite that increased institutional support, the Wolf Pack posted its largest deficit since fiscal year 2020 when it was $2 million in the red due to the impact of the COVID-19 impact that spring.

Andrew Clinger, UNR's Vice President of Administration and Finance, told Nevada Sports Net the university considers the 2024 fiscal year "cash neutral" as season-ticket sales for Nevada men's basketball collected in fiscal year 2024 were pushed forward to 2025 since that's when the games for the season will be played. Any deficit accrued by Wolf Pack athletics in fiscal year 2024 will be covered by the university, Clinger said.

One of the biggest reasons for Nevada's 2024 deficit was mandatory cost-of-living increases instituted by the Nevada System of Higher Education. Those COLAs included a 14 percent and 11 percent raise for university's employees making less than $200,000. That led to increased expenses for the Wolf Pack that were not matched by increased revenue after Nevada turned a small profit in fiscal year 2023 ($23,344).

Nevada athletic director Stephanie Rempe said the Wolf Pack must continue to boost its self-supported revenue steams, which include ticket sales; donations; sponsorships; and royalties.

"Ticket sales," Rempe said of the biggest area of potential growth. "The hardest part is that all of our premium spaces in football are sold out and we don't have premium spaces in Lawlor. Another area is philanthropy, which is why we have a full staff that are now fundraisers. Sponsorship. We were $110,000 away from hitting rev share this year (through Learfield). So, that's a huge positive. The expectation next year is we hit rev share so anything above what they sell we will get more revenue, which is a positive. And then royalties. This year, we had a check for one quarter of $70,000 for the EA Sports game, which was fun. And royalties are up because of all of our local partnerships."

Nevada's budget of $53.9 million was an 8.9 percent year-over-year increase from 2023 when the Wolf Pack spent $49.5 million on athletics. The biggest year-over-year increases in expenses came in coaching salaries (from $8.838 million to $10.125 million); support staff (from $7.258 million to $9.173 million); and student aid (from $8.929 million to $9.151 million), which combined to rise by $3.424 million, which accounts for around 78 percent of the increased expenses. Rempe said Nevada added assistant coaches in four sports; a mental-health professional; and a dietitian in fiscal year 2024, which all increased expenses.

The Wolf Pack received $16,606,514 in direct or indirect institutional support in fiscal year 2024, which was in line with the 2023 total of $16,457,237. Nevada athletics and other schools on campus got a 5 percent budget cut from the university as it prepared to pay for COLA increases; the university did not fund COLA increases for athletics employees. That 5 percent cut ate into any expected boost in university support expected from the Wolf Pack.

Nevada athletics did earn a bump in state support, getting $5,593,085 from that area compared to $4,835,591 a year prior. However, that state-support number fell well short of the $8.221 million state appropriation to UNLV for fiscal year 2024. In the past, Regent members have justified the increased state support for UNLV by saying the Rebels have more athletics facilities to maintain, with much of the state support coming in the form of tuition waivers and facility maintenance.

Combined, the Wolf Pack got $22.2 million in state and university money in FY24 compared to $21.3 million the year prior, an increase just shy of $1 million.

Among Nevada's other top-line expenses items were travel ($5.122 million); overhead and administrative expenses ($4.864 million); equipment ($2.625 million); game expenses ($1.887 million); athlete meals ($1.538 million); facility debt ($1.402 million); game guarantees ($1.186 million); and recruiting ($992,066).

Nevada's top revenue sources outside of state and university funding included ticket sales, which in fiscal year 2024 were $8.181 million, up from $7.502 million the year prior, an increase of 9.1 percent. Additional revenue sources included donations ($4.043 million); royalties, licensing, ads and sponsorships ($2.865 million); game guarantees ($2.048 million); and student fees ($2.851 million), which was down from the prior year and one of the lowest figures in the Mountain West). The Wolf Pack also got $3.401 million from the MW media-rights deal plus an additional $1.850 million from the MW in conference distribution. The Wolf Pack's NCAA distribution was $1.745 million.

Of Nevada's $53.917 million budget, 46.5 percent was provided by state, student and university fees (a total $25.051), making Nevada nearly half subsidized by public money. Rempe said her department is still $3.9 million below the MW median in public funding (state, university and student fees). Hitting that median in public money has been a goal for UNR president Brian Sandoval.

Nevada athletics has generally struggled to break even financially, running deficits instead of surpluses more times than not in the last 15 fiscal years. Many Division I athletic departments routinely fall in the red on an annual basis, including those in the so-called power conferences. Missouri, which plays in the big-money SEC, posted a $15.2 million deficit in fiscal year 2024. UCLA's deficit was reported at $51.85 million during that same fiscal year.

The 2024 fiscal year ran from July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024, meaning it covered the 2023 football season, the second for Nevada under coach Ken Wilson, as well as the 2023-24 men's basketball season, which signaled Nevada's second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. Fiscal year 2024 was the first time Rempe set and executed a year-long budget since being hired as the Wolf Pack's athletic director in June 2022.

With its second straight season with an NCAA Tournament berth, Nevada men's basketball turned a profit of $1.734 million in FY24. Football lost $3.137 million after going 2-10 in Wilson's second season. Women's basketball lost $2.380 million; Nevada baseball lost $1.833 million; and softball had a $1.256 million deficit.

Wolf Pack men's basketball generated far and away the most money in ticket sales at $4.879 million, up from $4.484 million the previous year. Nevada football generated $3.123 million in ticket sales, up from $2.945 million the previous year. The rest of the Wolf Pack's sports sold $177,455 in tickets, up from $162,207 the previous year. Nevada's total ticket sales ticked up to $8.181 million from $7.502 million in fiscal year 2023.

In fiscal year 2019 , the president's office took over $8.25 million of historic debt/deferral accrued by Wolf Pack athletics. It later absorbed $5.9 million in accrued athletics department debt and since 2019 has covered around $32 million in deficits accumulated by the school's athletic department, giving Wolf Pack athletics a clean slate following the hiring of Rempe, who accepted the athletic director job in June 2022.

Schools are required to file fiscal year reports to the NCAA on an annual basis, which is how NSN received the Wolf Pack's 2024 fiscal year filing through a public-records request.

Wolf Pack's fiscal year outcomes

Here is a look at Nevada’s profit/deficit in each of the last 15 fiscal years.

2010: -$750,000

2011: -$450,000

2012: +$50,000

2013: -$500,000

2014: -$39,450

2015: +$115,000

2016: +$135,000

2017: -$2,000,000

2018: -$900,000

2019: +$216,678

2020: -$2,000,000

2021: $0 (after $10,199,921 "budget allocation" from the university)

2022: +$2,717,930 (after $9,918,499.33 "budget allocation" from the university)

2023: +$23,344

2024: -$587,253

Source: Wolf Pack athletics/NCAA financial reports