Ohio State Department of Athletics projects $130.3 million loss in revenue

Keaton Maisano, Sam Raudins
Mon, 24 Aug 2020 20:41:21 +0000
Big Ten, Coronavirus, Men's Soccer, News, Sports, athletic, Big 10, coronavirus, COVID-19, decrease, fall, Football, Gene Smith, income, loss, money, ohio state, revenue, season, sport, university

Ohio Stadium during the blackout game against Michigan State on Oct. 5, 2019. Ohio State won 34-10. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Former Managing Editor for Multimedia

Ohio State’s Department of Athletics is expected to lose $130.3 million this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, due to the cancelation of the fall sports seasons and the loss of related ticket, media, conference and game guarantee revenue, according to the Board of Trustees meeting materials.?

The Board’s Audit, Compliance and Finance Committee, set to meet Thursday, will review the FY2021 Financial Plan, which states that along with this fiscal year’s loss, Student Life, Athletics, and Business Advancement is expected to lose $132.7 million — a decrease of 39.3 percent in revenue — in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1, 2020, in comparison to the current fiscal year. The postponed Big Ten sports, which includes football, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, and field hockey, is a major driver of the decrease.?

A university spokesperson said Ohio State will have more information to share at the Board meeting Thursday.?

When addressing the potential of having to take a pay cut or losing staff to make up for financial losses, head coach Ryan Day said in an Aug. 12 Zoom call that those were “all things that are on the table right now.”?

“We’re going to get in line with Gene [Smith] and the institution and the university to make sure that we do everything we can to make sure we’re whole financially,” Day said.