Cancelling March Madness was a financial bloodbath for the NCAA.
IF the college football season suffers the same fate this fall it is unlikely men’s college soccer could survive.
There’s a reason men’s soccer is lumped into the category of non-revenue sports. There are no t.v. deals generating dollars for soccer, in fact, most broadcast arrangements entail schools partially shouldering the burden. Ticket sales amount to virtually nothing. There aren’t any luxury boxes or premium seating. Sponsorship income is essentially a non-factor that would, at best, result in a negligible amount of money. There are no post season payouts for the College Cup. Merchandising? Not a chance. Finding men’s soccer shirts and hats in a college bookstore is akin to locating the Ark of the Covenant.
Then there are the costs. What about the 9.9 scholarships for D1 schools, if the program is even fully funded. What about coach’s salaries, the recruiting budget, support staff, equipment and facility maintenance? Do you know how much money is gobbled up by insurance? A metric ton, that’s how much. Then you need to turn the lights on, pay the detail cops, you get the idea I’m sure.
This doesn’t end well.
IF the college football season suffers the same fate this fall it is unlikely men’s college soccer could survive.
There’s a reason men’s soccer is lumped into the category of non-revenue sports. There are no t.v. deals generating dollars for soccer, in fact, most broadcast arrangements entail schools partially shouldering the burden. Ticket sales amount to virtually nothing. There aren’t any luxury boxes or premium seating. Sponsorship income is essentially a non-factor that would, at best, result in a negligible amount of money. There are no post season payouts for the College Cup. Merchandising? Not a chance. Finding men’s soccer shirts and hats in a college bookstore is akin to locating the Ark of the Covenant.
Then there are the costs. What about the 9.9 scholarships for D1 schools, if the program is even fully funded. What about coach’s salaries, the recruiting budget, support staff, equipment and facility maintenance? Do you know how much money is gobbled up by insurance? A metric ton, that’s how much. Then you need to turn the lights on, pay the detail cops, you get the idea I’m sure.
This doesn’t end well.
Comment