Iowa athletics report financial shortfall for fiscal 2015

IOWA CITY — University of Iowa's athletics department reported a $3.24 million shortfall for fiscal year 2015, one year after it raised a record number of contributions earmarked for current and future facilities projects.

According to a financial statement submitted to the NCAA and obtained by The Gazette via an open-records request, Iowa athletics recorded nearly $106 million in revenue but expenses totaled more than $109.2 million. In was a financial flip from fiscal 2014 when the department generated a $3.6 million surplus.

The extra income in 2014 was raised and set aside for facilities projects, including the new $55 million football operations facility. That building became fully operational following the 2014 football season, which was part of the 2015 fiscal year.

The annual statement doesn't reflect the department's overall finanicial health, Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said. The department receives donations sometimes years in advance of projects.

'It's a cash flow issue, mostly with our facility contributions,' Barta told The Gazette. 'So we know it's coming, we anticipate it, and that's really the biggest swing, is the contributions that come in for, say, the football operations center that came in advance and then this year we don't have as much.'

Iowa's overall contributions fell from a record $30.35 million in fiscal 2014 to $25.34 million in fiscal 2015. Most of the 2014 donations were earmarked specifically for new facilities, and the money was budgeted for future debt service. Iowa's debt service payments exceeded $10.8 million in 2015 and totals nearly $136 million. Iowa spent more than $30.5 million in facilities and maintenance in fiscal 2015, up by $4.3 million.

Among the increased expenses include $2.3 million more in salaries for staff and coaches. Facility expenses and overhead costs grew to $30.5 million, up from $26.27 million. Iowa football recruiting jumped from $347,037 in fiscal 2014 to $487,086 in fiscal 2015. Basketball recruiting dipped slightly from $291,811 in 2014 to $275,134.

Among revenue increases include football ticket sales, which grew to $21.04 million (up $615,000). Iowa received $33.3 million from Big Ten and NCAA sources, up by about $4.4 million.

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