UB Athletics had a budget of roughly $35.9 million in 2017, according to the NCAA Membership Financial Report The Spectrum received on March 22. The report covered expenditures and revenues for the 2017 calendar year.
The department spent $35,883,884 last year. Athletic student aid was the biggest individual expenditure at $9,418,613. Athletics revenue was $35,892,221 with the department breaking even on expenses this past year, according to the report.
Men’s teams had an overall budget of $13,974,268, almost twice as much as the overall women’s teams 'budget of $7,040,784. Football led in team budgets at $7,796,405, three times as much as any other UB team. Men’s basketball had the second highest budget at $2,219,870 and women’s basketball the third at $1,534,649. The rest of the Division-I teams had a combined budget of $9,938,906.
The severance payments for the four cut Division-I teams from March 2017 combined for $492,587.
“Direct institutional support” was the largest source of revenue for Athletics, according to the report. UB gave the department $14,511,421. The men’s teams received $7,990,397, while the women’s teams received $1,408,354. The remaining $5,112,670 was used for nonspecific team expenses.
Student fees were the second-largest revenue earner with $8,981,926. $5,071,887 went to women’s teams while $2,959,507 went to men’s teams. The remaining $950,532 was not allocated by team.
The revenue from insitutional support and student fees made up two-thirds of the Athletics budget. The rest of the revenue earners –– including ticket sales and royalties –– made roughly $3 million or less.
The school earned $1,065,783 in ticket revenue, with football making up $816,409 of that revenue. NCAA distribution brought in $2,869,844 while conference distribution brought in $1,275,000. Travel expenses for men’s and women’s sports combined for $3,012,827, with football having the highest individual cost at $929,110.
Thomas Zafonte is the senior sports editor and can be reached at thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com and @Thomas_Spectrum.
Thomas Zafonte is a senior English major. He is a UB sports fan and enjoys traveling around Buffalo.
