Here’s how much revenue Boise State athletics lost during the COVID-19 year
The Boise State athletic department generated about $12 million less revenue in fiscal year 2021 after games were canceled and crowd sizes were limited because of COVID-19. It’s operating at a deficit for the first time since 2016.
Boise State made $39,520,578 between June 30, 2020, and June 30, 2021. But it spent $40,126,524, leaving a deficit of $605,946, according to the annual athletic department revenue report the university submits to the NCAA and Idaho State Board of Education.
Boise State brought in almost $52 million in fiscal year 2020 but would have operated at a deficit then if it weren’t for more than $500,000 in revenue carried over from sports camps held in previous years. That fiscal year included the first few months of the pandemic.
The athletic department received about $9.2 million in COVID-19 support in FY 2021, according to the revenue report, but Boise State took its biggest hit in ticket sales.
The Broncos’ 2020 football season was reduced to eight games because of the pandemic, and two were canceled during the season. Boise State ended up playing seven games after falling to San Jose State in the Mountain West championship game and not playing in a bowl game after a vote by the players.
About 1,100 fans, including the school’s band and spirit squad, were allowed to attend two of Boise State’s home football games in 2020 because of restrictions on crowd size. That left the Broncos with just $1,031 in ticket sales in FY 2021. The program made more than $5.1 million from ticket sales in FY 2020.
The football team’s share of annual distributions from the Mountain West went from $1.9 million to just over $1.1 million. The team’s revenue from royalties, advertisements and sponsorships also dipped from $5.3 million to $2.9 million.
The football team made $3.4 million from media rights deals, which is up from $2.3 million the previous year, and its distribution from the NCAA went up from $310,313 to $465,995.
In all, the football program generated a little more than $11 million in fiscal 2021, but its expenses topped $14.7 million, leaving a deficit of more than $3 million.
Football wasn’t the only program to feel the sting.
Ticket sales for men’s basketball went from $1.3 million in fiscal year 2020 to $53,154. For the women’s basketball team, ticket sales went from $38,325 to $4,287. Both teams opened the 2020-21 season with games in empty arenas, and a limited number of fans weren’t allowed to attend home games until February 2021.
Men’s basketball brought in a little more than $2.3 million in FY 2021, but it spent more than $2.9 million. Women’s basketball generated $786,280, but its expenses topped $1.9 million.
Boise State also incurred $468,538 in expenses from its now-defunct baseball team in fiscal year 2021. The program made its return to the diamond in 2020 after a four-decade hiatus, but the Broncos only made it through 14 games before the season was canceled because of COVID-19. Baseball and swimming were cut in July 2020 in a move that was expected to save the department about $2.2 million, according to former Boise State Athletic Director Curt Apsey.
The revenue report for fiscal year 2022 should look drastically different for Boise State’s football and men’s basketball teams.
The football team averaged 34,681 fans at home games last season, which ranks No. 2 in program history. That should mean a surge in ticket sales, but the program won’t have any revenue from a bowl game for the second year in a row. The Broncos were scheduled to end last season in the Arizona Bowl, but it was canceled because of COVID-19.
The men’s basketball team averaged 7,869 fans at home games last season. That’s up from 4,803 per game in 2019-20. The team didn’t play a full home schedule in 2020-21 because of cancellations due to COVID-19.
Idaho State reported a $1,034,263 athletics deficit for FY 2021. The University of Idaho reported a $3,046,172 deficit.
Visser comes out of retirement
Former Rocky Mountain and Gooding standout Tyler Visser announced Wednesday on Twitter that he’s coming out of retirement and will transfer.
Visser, who has at least one year of eligibility remaining, joined the Broncos in 2020 after two years at Sierra College in California. He appeared in four games in 2020 but missed all of last season with a shoulder injury. In November, he and Pocatello native Aisa Kelemete medically retired.
Fitzgerald joins Eagles
Former Boise State quarterback Colton Fitzgerald has committed to Georgia Southern, he announced Monday on Twitter.
Fitzgerald announced in April that he was transferring. He joined the Broncos just before fall camp began in 2021 and still has four years of eligibility remaining.
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
