Ohio State Athletic Department Reports Roughly $41 Million Deficit Amid Pandemic

The Buckeyes had seasons cancelled or played in near-empty stadiums and arenas during 2020-21 academic year.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Feb 1, 2022 3:09 PM EST

Ohio State released a new financial report on Tuesday afternoon detailing the challenges its athletic department faced during the 2020-21 academic year, including seasons that were cancelled or games played in near-empty stadiums and arenas.

According to the report, the athletic department brought in $106,896,918 during Fiscal Year 2021, which ran from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. That’s down from a record $233,871,740 the year prior.

The pandemic initially forced the cancellation of spring sports in March 2020, including the annual football spring game in April. That carried over to the fall, when the football team played just five regular season games and all athletic events were closed to fans, excluding family and working media.

Thus, the Buckeyes went from $65,978,534 in ticket sales to just $7,386 during the fiscal year.

Ohio State’s athletic department – which features 16 men’s teams, 17 women’s teams and three mixed teams totaling approximately 1,000 student-athletes – also saw its media rights revenue drop from $46.8 million to $40.6 million and football revenue drop from $115.5 million to $41.9 million.

“This was a most challenging year for our department and for everyone, and I am so proud of our student-athletes, our coaches and our support staff who continued to deliver at a championship level,” athletic director Gene Smith said. “Despite the difficulties we all faced working through the pandemic, we preserved our commitment to our student-athletes and the sports they love.”

Additionally, the department’s total expenses decreased from $215,209,566 to $170,551,920, while athletic-related endowments increased to $129 million from $98.6 million.

Part of those expenses included a $20 million one-time payment to reduce capital loan balances on two recently completed athletic buildings, which means the department’s actual deficit for Fiscal Year 2021 was roughly $41 million.

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