University of Iowa doesn't see windfall from big NIT crowd

Tuesday's NIT win over Dayton brought 13,000 fans to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, national exposure on ESPN and a sense the men's basketball program is taking steps to return to prominence.

"That is our vision that Carver-Hawkeye (Arena) is going to be like this, night in and night out," said Iowa athletics director Gary Barta.

Even while school was on spring break, the students who could get to the arena made plenty of noise, making Iowa City a loud setting, once again, for college basketball.

"It's really picked up since my freshman and sophomore years," said UI junior Isaac Strohman, a season-ticket holder. "It's a lot louder and the fans are into it."

Only the financial payoff will not be seen -- at least not immediately from the 13,190 fans, the announced crowd in Iowa's 84-75 win over Dayton in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament.

"There's a sense that the athletic department realized a big financial coup last night, and there was no revenue benefit from last night," said Barta. "This is a tournament that is run by the NIT and they come in and realize all of the revenue. We have no direct revenue from last night."

Troy Dannen, athletics director at the University of Northern Iowa, was in Philadelphia on Wednesday for UNI's 67-65 win at St. Joseph's in the NIT.  Like Barta, Dannen said there is no financial incentive for his program.  The game comes at a tight time for UNI, where school officials have recommended millions of dollars in cuts to make up a $5 million budget shortfall, including about $500,000 in athletic cuts.

With a fiscal year 2012 budget of $2.6 million, the Iowa men's basketball program is a small but notable part of the department's near $75 million budget.  Football remains the primary revenue sport, with an annual revenue pull of about $20 million.  Yet Barta said men's basketball is the other program the department counts on to subsidize all sports.

Barta said he has seen just how far the men's basketball program had fallen, especially since the last NCAA tournament appearance in 2006 under then-head coach Steve Alford.

In March 2010, Iowa fired head coach Todd Lickliter after three losing seasons.  Yet to change coaches, the department had to keep paying out Lickliter's contract through 2013.

Barta said Tuesday's win was a step in the right direction for the eventual goal, which second-year head coach Fran McCaffery said is a national championship for Iowa.

"Before the financial end of it comes, you have to get the building back," said Barta.  "We cut ticket prices some years ago, significantly, so we're starting to see the building fill back up."

While Iowa does not see a financial payoff from Tuesday's win, the six teams in the Big Ten that did make the NCAA Tournament could land a windfall for the conference if multiple teams advance closer to the Final Four.  The Big Ten Conference splits total revenue gained among its members.