University Spending on Athletics

Today's Inside Higher Ed alerted me to a database maintained by USA Today on revenues and expenses of university athletics programs around the country.

For UCLA in 2008-09, operating revenue of $66,177,866 is reported. Sources for that revenue in dollars and percent are:

Ticket sales $24,996,824 37.8%

Student fees $2,498,877 3.8%

Guarantees $1,454,128 2.2%

Contributions $10,006,048 15.1%

Direct institutional support $210,000 0.3%

NCAA/conference distributions including all tournament revenues $5,253,849 7.9%

Broadcast, television, radio, and internet rights $5,900,665 8.9%

Program sales, concession, novelty sales, and parking $1,318,925 2.0%

Royalties, licensing, advertisements and sponsorships $9,179,351 13.9%

Sports camp revenues $2,960,664 4.5%

Endowment and investment income $1,624,147 2.5%

Other $774,388 1.2%

The database contains info on UC-Berkeley, Irvine, Riverside, and Davis. All are reported to have spent more in dollar terms and percentages than UCLA in the categories of Direct Institutional Support and Student Fees on athletics. You can access the database at: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ncaa-finances.htm