With stadiums back at full capacity and in the midst of a football coaching change, LSU athletic department revenues surged again in 2021 after restrictions implemented for the coronavirus pandemic caused ticket sales and contributions to plummet the year before.
LSU produced a $6.53 million profit, according to the school’s annual NCAA financial report. The rebound spanned the 2021-22 academic year and came after LSU reported a deficit the previous fiscal year for the first time since at least 2004 because of major revenue losses caused by the pandemic.
Yearly summaries sent by schools to the governing body of college sports are available through public records law. The figures encompassed fiscal year 2022, which lasted from July 2021 until June 2022. The stretch included the switch from Ed Orgeron to Brian Kelly as football coach.
LSU had a $9.63 million deficit the previous fiscal year. But fueled by resurgent ticket sales and contributions, athletic revenue climbed to $199.30 million, an increase of $77.41 million over the previous year. The department spent $192.77 million, which was roughly $61 million more than the year before. The latest figures for all Southeastern Conference teams are not known.
With Tiger Stadium capacity restrictions lifted for the 2021 season, football ticket sales returned to pre-pandemic levels despite firing Orgeron in the middle of a 6-7 season. LSU made $38.44 million, a significant jump after one of the department’s primary sources of revenue earned only $5.69 million in the 2020 fiscal year.
Contributions also rose across the board, jumping to $73.85 million from $19.8 million the previous fiscal year. Non-program specific contributions skyrocketed to $42.06 million, exceeding the previous five-year average by $32.51 million. Funding sources range from individuals to organizations designated for athletic operations.
Additionally, LSU received $4.68 million more in media rights and made $6.53 million more on programs, novelty items, parking and concessions than the previous fiscal year.
The football program, which supports nearly the entire athletic department, returned to pre-pandemic revenue levels as it underwent a coaching change. The team made $95.1 million, the most in at least a decade. Contributions jumped by $18.08 million. It also received $3.79 million from bowl-related revenue after self-imposing a bowl ban during the 2020 season.
However, football’s $35.71 million profit was lower than usual. The team spent about $59.38 million, largely because of an uptick in payments for severance ($6.92 million) and salaries ($24.60 million) during the coaching change. Kelly signed a 10-year contract worth $100 million plus incentives.
Coaching salaries were once again the department’s largest expenditure. LSU spent $43.58 million on them in 2021-22, almost $11.2 million more than the previous fiscal year. It also paid out $31.09 on compensation for athletic support staff.
Men’s basketball finished with a $1.67 million profit in the year it fired head coach Will Wade for cause. After two years of posting financial losses, it was the team’s highest profit since earning $1.61 million during the 2017 fiscal year. Largely because of ticket sales rebounding, men’s basketball reported $4.09 million more in total revenue than the previous fiscal year.
Baseball, the other LSU team that usually records profits, did so as Alex Box Stadium operated with full capacity for an entire season for the first time since 2019 and contributions ($2.43 million) returned to pre-pandemic levels. The program reported $6.06 million in overall revenue and had a net income of $84,595 in coach Jay Johnson’s first season after losing money for two straight years.
Kim Mulkey and her surging women’s basketball team clearly gained interest as ticket sales jumped by $842,526 and contributions increased by $551,336 in her first season. The program generated more NCAA distributions and sales at the arena than the year before. But higher operating expenses, mostly from compensation for Mulkey and her staff ($5.1 million combined), resulted in a $6.55 million deficit for the team.
Every other program finished with deficits, which is typical. But overall, the athletic department turned a profit again.