The University at Buffalo's athletic department reported an increase in its revenue and spending for the 2021-22 fiscal year, as both the university and the community continue to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
UB had revenues of $40,192,255 and expenses of $39,537,565 for the 2021-22 fiscal year, according to its annual standardized financial statement the school must file with the NCAA. The Buffalo News obtained the filing through a Freedom of Information Law request.
The increase in revenues and in expenses were expected for the 2021-22 fiscal year. UB’s expenses for the 2020-21 fiscal year totaled $36,268,695 and its expenses totaled $36,214,285, in a fiscal year in which ticket sales were minimal, there were decreases in game expenses and recruiting expenses, and nonconference football games that would have pocketed UB a combined $2.7 million were not played in the fall of 2020.
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According to Sportico.com’s College Athletic Departments Financial Database, UB had the highest operating revenues and highest operating expenses among 11 of the Mid-American Conference’s 12 schools for 2021-22; data was not available for Eastern Michigan.
UB also finished with an excess of $654,690 for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
Here's a look at where UB’s most significant changes were, in revenue and expenses during the 2021-22 fiscal year, which began July 1, 2021, and ended June 30, 2022.
Most significant revenue changes in last two fiscal years
UB’s reported revenue for the 2021-22 fiscal year is also the athletic department’s highest revenue since the 2018-19 fiscal year, when UB brought in $45,977,952, according to its NCAA filing for that fiscal year. UB’s football team played in the MAC championship and the Dollar General Bowl in 2018, and the men’s and women’s basketball teams each won the MAC Tournament championship and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
Ticket sales: Fans were back in the stands at UB Stadium for the 2021 football season and for the 2021-22 men’s and women’s basketball seasons, after a 2020-21 school year without fans in attendance due to Covid-19 restrictions. UB had $1,010,239 in ticket sales, up from $5,472 the previous year.
• Football: $724,764 in ticket sales for six home games in 2021, up from zero revenue for the 2020 season.
• Men’s basketball: $139,460 in ticket sales for 12 home games, up from $1,236 the previous fiscal year.
• Women’s basketball: $137,626 in ticket sales for 15 home games, up from $1,200 the previous fiscal year.
Factors that impacted UB's revenue streams included the absence of fans in the stands, the loss of marquee football games at Power Five programs and payouts to coaches who left UB.
Guarantee games, bowl revenues: UB football’s nonconference game in 2021 at Nebraska had a payout of $1.32 million, according to the contract, obtained by The News through a FOIL request. The previous season, football played a conference-only schedule due to Covid-19 restrictions, and the athletic department received no guarantee money for football.
UB did not qualify for a bowl game in 2021 and did not receive any bowl revenues; UB received $250,000 in bowl revenues for the 2020-21 fiscal year, after the football team made the Camellia Bowl in December 2020.
UB received a combined $185,000 in guarantee money for men’s and women’s basketball. The previous year, UB received only $38,000 in guarantee money for men’s and women’s basketball.
Contributions: UB accounted for $1,103,324 in contributions, up from $348,024 in 2020-21.
Student fees: Increased from $9,148,722 in 2020-21 to $10,002,577.
Licensing, royalties, advertising and sponsorships: Increased from $523,387 to $938,442 in 2021-22.
Around the country, college athletic departments are seeing revenues increase, following the impact of Covid-19. The Salt Lake Tribune reported this month that the University of Utah’s NCAA financial report listed a record revenue of $115.7 million for the 2021-22 fiscal year. The Detroit Free Press reported in January that the University of Michigan had an operating surplus of $17.1 million; Michigan reported a $47.6 million deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Most significant changes in expenses in last two fiscal years
But to make money, UB also had to spend money. UB’s athletic operating expenses totaled $39,537,565, up more than $3.3 million from the 2020-21 fiscal year ($36,214,285).
Among UB’s most significant changes in expenses from the previous fiscal year:
Team travel: UB had expenses of $3,237,975 in travel cost for its teams – including $1,148,542 for football – in the 2021-22 fiscal year, nearly double the 2020-21 team travel costs of $1,683,618.
Recruiting: UB’s recruiting expenses increased nearly four-fold, to $757,049, including $422,871 for football, which amounted to more than half of UB's total athletic recruiting expenses.
The NCAA restricted recruiting from March 2020 to June 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic; UB’s expenses for the previous fiscal year totaled $194,198.
Guarantees: The cost of paying teams to face UB rose, from $40,500 in 2020-21 to $459,500 for 2021-22. Travel for teams was limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic for the previous fiscal year, which meant that UB had fewer out-of-town opponents on campus. The football team played a conference-only schedule in 2020; men’s basketball hosted only one nonconference game in 2020-21 season; and women’s basketball team hosted one nonconference game and one exhibition game in 2020-21.
Medical expenses and insurance: Medical expenses plummeted, following a fiscal year impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, dropping from $1,607,275 to $437,211.
Coaching salaries: UB’s coaching salary pool dropped, from $8,082,171 to $7,269,527 in 2021-22. Coaching turnover in football most notably impacted that salary pool; UB’s football staff was paid $2,708,646 for 2021-22, a decrease of more than $811,000 from 2020-21 ($3,519,649).
“Other expenses”: This includes expenses that do not fall under itemized categories on UB's NCAA statement of revenues and expenses. In an email to the News, UB deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer Nate Wills clarified that category includes expenses such as contractual services with outside vendors, general staff travel, supplies/materials, and corporate partnership related trade.
That amounted to an increase of more than $2.26 million, from $749,044 in 2020-21 to $3,018,508 in 2021-22. In particular, general staff travel at UB increased by about $200,000 in the 2021-22 fiscal year for professional development and certification renewal, and UB also made about $210,000 in payments to complete improvements to the football locker room.