By Tom Green
The true financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Auburn’s athletics department was reflected in the program’s most recent annual NCAA financial report, when the department reported operating at a loss during the 2020-21 fiscal year.
A year after reporting record revenue and a $17.9 million profit margin, Auburn’s athletics department saw its revenue decrease by $30 million year over year and operated at a $9.7 million loss, according to a copy of the university’s annual NCAA financial report obtained by AL.com through a public records request. It’s the first time in seven years that Auburn athletics has operated at a loss.
According to the document, Auburn’s athletics department reported an operating revenue of $123,546,999 during the most recent fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2020, and ran through Sept. 30, 2021. That number was down from the record revenue of $153,703,749 during the prior fiscal year, when Auburn benefited from the 2019 football season and 2019-20 basketball season operating at full attendance for games before the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. It’s the lowest reported revenue for the department in six years.
While Auburn saw its revenue drop by $30 million during the 2020-21 fiscal year, the university’s operating expenses for the athletics department decreased by just $2.5 million year over year. Auburn reported $133,289,885 in operating expenses.
The resulting difference was a reported operating loss of $9,742,886 for the athletics department during the 2020-21 fiscal year. It’s the first time the program has operated at a loss since the 2013-14 fiscal year, when Auburn reported $13.62 million in losses for the athletics department. It’s just the third time since the 2005-06 fiscal year that the athletics department has operated at a loss.
Much of that difference can be attributed to the program’s loss of ticket revenue during the 2020 football season and 2020-21 basketball season, when attendance at Jordan-Hare Stadium and Auburn Arena was limited to 20 percent due to the pandemic. After reporting $33,820,864 in ticket revenue during the 2019-20 fiscal year, that number plummeted to just $3.7 million during the 2020-21 fiscal year, according to the document. Auburn reported just $3.2 million in football ticket sales, which was down from $31 million the prior year, and just $180,757 in men’s basketball ticket sales, which was down from $2.1 million the year before.
The loss of ticket revenue from the university’s two most profitable sports, paired with a significant jump in severance payments due to former coaches and administrators, played into the athletics department operating at a loss for the first time in seven years. Auburn reported just $734,877 in severance payments due to former coaches during the 2019-20 fiscal year, but that number ballooned to $16.6 million during the most recent fiscal year. Of course, the bulk of that was due to the turnover within the football program, with Auburn doling out $16.08 million to former football coaches during the 2020-21 fiscal year following the firing of former coach Gus Malzahn and the majority of his staff.
| Fiscal year | Total revenue | Total expenses | Surplus/deficit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | $123,546,999 | $133,289,885 | $(9,742,886) |
| 2019-20 | $153,703,749 | $135,816,431 | $17,887,318 |
| 2018-19 | $152,455,416 | $139,260,711 | $13,194,705 |
| 2017-18 | $147,620,569 | $139,798,191 | $7,822,378 |
| 2016-17 | $147,511,034 | $132,885,979 | $14,625,055 |
| 2015-16 | $140,070,593 | $124,864,399 | $15,206,194 |
| 2014-15 | $124,657,247 | $115,498,047 | $9,159,200 |
| 2013-14 | $113,716,004 | $127,340,380 | $(13,624,376) |
| 2012-13 | $103,680,609 | $104,546,603 | $(865,994) |
| 2011-12 | $105,951,253 | $97,128,835 | $8,822,418 |
| 2010-11 | $103,982,441 | $100,497,784 | $3,484,657 |
| 2009-10 | $92,611,558 | $90,908,902 | $1,702,656 |
| 2008-09 | $87,001,413 | $85,480,343 | $1,521,070 |
| 2007-08 | $89,311,824 | $69,841,200 | $19,470,624 |
| 2006-07 | $81,799,266 | $68,910,465 | $12,888,801 |
| 2005-06 | $66,599,925 | $63,249,119 | $3,350,806 |