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Despite the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio State athletic department's revenues actually went up for the 2020 fiscal year.
Per Ohio State's 2020 financial report to the NCAA, which was released by the university on Thursday, the athletic department generated $233,871,740 in revenue for FY20, which ran from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. That's an 11% increase from FY19, when it brought in $210,548,239 in revenues.
Ohio State's expenses for the 2020 fiscal year, meanwhile, dropped to $215,209,566, a 2.4% decrease from FY19 ($220,572,956). Altogether, the athletic department finished FY20 in the black by $18,662,174.
Ohio State received nearly a $20 million increase in athletics contributions in FY20, bringing in $48,197,862 after receiving $29,681,048 in FY19, while ticket sales revenue also increased 10.2% from $59,847,907 to $65,978,534. Media rights revenues increased slightly, from $45,607,941 to $46,849,461, while revenues from sponsorships and licensing agreements jumped from $22,921,170 to $30,825,698.
While the Buckeyes' 2020 winter and spring sports seasons were cut short due to COVID-19, that didn't make a major impact on revenues because they were able to play full schedules of home football and basketball games with fans in attendance before the pandemic changed everything.
Athletic director Gene Smith acknowledged in the university's release that the pandemic will have a much greater impact on Ohio State's revenues for FY21. Per a university release in September, the athletic department was at the time projecting a $107 million loss in revenue for the 2021 fiscal year.
“I feel for our student-athletes whose experiences have been hampered since the spring,” Smith said in a statement. “While the full financial effect of the pandemic will be felt in the next fiscal year, I’m pleased with how the athletic department and athletes showed resiliency in adjusting to a sudden, once-in-a-lifetime situation that saw all spring sports except tennis canceled.”
Ohio State's decreased expenses for the 2020 fiscal year were in part because of the pandemic, as the athletic department's team travel expenses decreased from $12,445,537 to $9,998,995. Bowl game expenses also decreased in FY20 from $7,034,456 to $4,752,076 – Smith attributed the higher price tag in FY19 to the cost of traveling to the Rose Bowl – while recruiting expenses decreased from $2,862,134 to $2,015,358.
Ohio State did report higher athletic facilities debt in FY20 ($29,748,769) than in FY19 ($25,524,434).
The Ohio State football program generated nearly half of the athletic department's revenues for FY20 ($115,510,031), while its expenses were $52,616,230, a 12.4% decrease from FY19 ($60,076,743).
