Hawkeye, Cyclone athletics break revenue records in fiscal 2022

IOWA CITY — Despite massive deficits during the worst of the pandemic for both University of Iowa and Iowa State University athletics, both programs not only are reporting a rebound but record-breaking revenue in the budget year that just ended.

UI Athletics generated $126.8 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. That’s nearly $10 million more than the $117 million it expected; $66.1 million more than the last budget year; and nearly $5 million more than the pre-pandemic 2019 budget year.

ISU Athletics topped $100 million in revenue in fiscal 2022 for the first time ever — reaching $106.3 million, nearly $8 million more than expected. That tally was about $39.2 million more than in the last budget year and $16.1 million more than in fiscal 2019.

“Sports income exceeded conservative budgets with higher ticket sales for all sports attributable to successful team performances” that year, according to the ISU section of a report being presented to the Iowa Board of Regents next week.

University of Northern Iowa Athletics also generated more income than expected — but by a smaller measure of $898,357, reaching $15.4 million. And, given that UNI is the only of the three to receive financial support from the main campus, its athletics revenue in the most recent year was down a tick from the pandemic-impinged 2021.

UNI, however, needed far less in general university support in fiscal 2022 than in 2021 — at $4.8 million, down from $9.2 million.

“Sports income exceeded the budget largely from men’s sports (other than football and basketball) and women’s sports from fundraising activities that provided unbudgeted revenue,” according to the UNI portion of the board’s budget report.

UNI was the only campus to not generate more football revenue than expected, coming in $109,894 below budget.

The Hawkeye football program brought in $1.1 million more than budgeted last year and $21.5 million more than in fiscal 2021 — when its football ticket revenue was non-existent. ISU also generated $1.1 million more from football last year than budgeted and $14.9 million more than in 2021.

For UI Athletics, men’s basketball and volleyball revenue came in under budget, but with all other sports generating more than expected. And media contract income and athletic conference contributions generated a combined $4.2 million more than budget at a total $65.5 million — more than half the Hawkeyes’ total revenue.

Like its income, expenses also returned to pre-pandemic levels.

“Football expenses increased due to midyear staff contract renegotiations and higher costs for volleyball resulted from midyear coaching staff changes,” according to a UI portion of the report, referencing head volleyball coach Vicki Brown’s firing without cause — requiring the university to pay her $370,000.

UI Athletics, with its restored income, last year paid back $3 million of a $50 million loan it took from the main campus to make up for a massive COVID-19 compelled deficit. In addition to taking the loan, UI Athletics in 2020 cited the pandemic’s impact on its budget by cutting three men’s sports: swimming and diving, tennis and gymnastics.

A loan agreement signed in June 2021 gives UI Athletics 15 years to pay back the money, with an interest rate at 2.5 percent for the first five years.

A previously-released budget for the current 2023 term anticipates UI Athletics will have another record-breaking year of nearly $129 million in revenue.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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