Hawkeyes, Cyclones expect record revenue; threefold spike for UI women’s basketball

IOWA CITY — Both the Hawkeye and Cyclone athletic programs in the new budget year are anticipating earning record-breaking revenue — with the University of Iowa predicting a threefold spike in women’s basketball income, pushing it past the $1 million mark for the first time to a projected $1.3 million.

That jump — combined with an expected 60-percent swell in men’s wrestling income and bigger returns from the Big Ten Athletic Conference and multimedia contracts — has UI Athletics expecting to generate $140.3 million in revenue, 9 percent over last year’s record-setting $129 million.

Iowa State University Athletics, which also generated a record $106.1 million last year, in the new budget year expects to bring in $111.5 million — thanks to strong anticipated ticket sales, philanthropy and multimedia revenue.

Both programs boast being “self-sustaining auxiliary enterprises” that receive no general university support — although UI Athletics in 2021 borrowed $50 million from the main campus to help with what ended up amounting to a nearly $45 million deficit from COVID19- related losses.

Although the original loan agreement stipulated the UI athletics director would review a payment plan annually with the UI chief financial officer and treasurer — with that payment plan amended only by mutual consent — UI officials on Tuesday told The Gazette, “There is no set payment plan” due to “variability in annual net revenue to the athletics department.”

UI Athletics in the 2022 budget year made its first payment of $3 million on that 15-year loan. In new athletic budget documents made public Tuesday — scheduled for Board of Regents approval next week — UI Athletics reported plans to pay $1.5 million on the loan at the end of the 2024 budget year.

Although the “transfer-loan payment” line item for the 2023 budget year was left blank in the new budget documents, officials told The Gazette the fiscal loan payment totaled $1.5 million.

Women’s basketball jump

In addition to the anticipated $1 million jump in women’s basketball revenue from $350,000 last season, the projected UI Athletics budget spike includes nearly $5 million more in conference revenue — bringing it to $61.8 million in the new year — and nearly $1 million more in licensing and multimedia contracts, respectively.

UI Athletics expects to sell more women’s basketball tickets — which it increased in price — after the team last season made its first-ever trip to the NCAA championship and fans flooded the box office with requests.

In fact, the department in early April paused acceptance of women’s basketball season ticket deposits — having received 6,700 new deposits in addition to the 6,500 existing ticket holders who have first dibs in the 15,056-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Where women’s basketball revenue had hovered below $300,000 until last year’s $350,000 — and was around $185,000 a decade ago — it’s expected to reach $1.3 million this year.

UI Athletics also expects to generate more from men’s basketball, with a $315,000 increase to $3.5 million, but less from Hawkeye football — after cutting season ticket prices inside Kinnick Stadium by between $10 to $25.

Hawkeye football revenue is expected to dip from $22.8 million last year to $22.3 million this coming season — even as football expenses increase to $39.5 million from $36.3 million.

ISU, UNI athletics

Although ISU is forecasting a $5.3 million revenue bump to a record-breaking $111.5 million in the new budget year, it’s expecting to get less revenue from its conference — now spread more thin — with a drop from $40.6 million to $33.5 million.

“Big 12 Conference revenue distributions are lower for FY24 due to the addition of four new schools to the conference,” according to the regent budget documents. “This is a one-time reduction with future year distributions projected to be greater than the FY23 distribution.”

University of Northern Iowa Athletics — which is not self-supported like the others and receives general university funding annually — expects a modest budget bump this year to $14.8 million, on par with last year’s $14.7 million.

But that increase comes thanks to help from the main campus.

In addition to the $4.5 million UNI is contributing to its athletics operation for general operations and scholarships in the new year — on par with previous years — the campus is adding to that a one-time $550,000 bump, bringing its total contribution to $5 million.

Broader campus budgets

The larger fiscal 2024 regent university budgets reveal tuition expectations — with UI and ISU anticipating gains thanks to across-the-board increases, including a 3.5 percent bump for undergraduate residents on all three campuses.

The UI expects to bring in $27.7 million more from tuition, even though it anticipates a decline in first-year students.

“While UI anticipates a slightly smaller incoming freshman class than the previous year, they expect a slightly higher mix of non-resident students,” according to board documents, noting out-of-state students pay more.

ISU expects to bring in $15 million more due to “enrollment projections” and the rate increases. But UNI has budgeted $2 million less in tuition revenue, dragging down its total 2024 budget by the same amount compared with last fiscal year.

Despite the regents’ request for $32 million more in state appropriations for the new budget year, lawmakers kept general university allocations flat.

Tuition and state appropriations are the main funding sources for the $7.37 billion regent enterprise, and this year they continued on their diverging slopes — with tuition now accounting for more than 64 percent of the universities’ general education funding, and state allocations for the first time dipping below the 30-percent mark.

In 1981, the reverse was true — with the state supporting 77 percent of the regents’ general education budget and tuition accounting for 21 percent.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com