The newest financial report from the UNC athletic department to the NCAA showed the department operated at a surplus for the 2021-22 athletic season. It’s the first time the department has made money over the course of a season since 2017-18. The department operated at deficits of more than $2 million in both 2018-19 and 2019-20, with approximately a $50,000 deficit during the 2020-21 season.
Of the $122,603,567 in total operating revenues in the department’s report, more than $31 million came from various media rights deals, including radio, TV, internet and e-commerce rights. Nearly $30 million came from ticket sales, nearly $20 million from outside contributions, nearly $13 million from royalties and licensing and nearly $48 million from student fees “assessed and restricted for support of intercollegiate athletics.”
Unsurprisingly, the bulk of UNC’s ticket sales money came from men’s basketball and football, with the two combining for more than $28 million of the approximately $30 million earned. After men’s basketball ($16.4 million) and football ($12.7 million), the next closest sport was baseball ($621,181).
Of the school’s 28 sponsored sports, 22 received outside contributions of at least $200,000. Football led the way with $6.9 million in contributions, with no other sport receiving more than $1 million. The next-highest sport was not men’s basketball, but rather baseball, which reported $963,282 in contributions. The Diamond Heels won the 2022 ACC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals last season.
Women’s lacrosse received the highest contributions of any women’s sport, reporting $923,386 in contributions last season. The women’s lacrosse program won the 2022 NCAA championship after an undefeated campaign, the only UNC program to win an NCAA team title during the 2021-22 academic year.
The football program reported nearly $7 million in revenue from its appearance in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in December of 2021. The team reported nearly $3 million in bowl game expenses (when including coaching compensation and bonuses), meaning the program at least made money while getting throttled by South Carolina.
In total, $56.6 million of the department’s revenue was directly attributed to football in the report, with men’s basketball totaling $32.2 million. The only other men’s sport to report more than $1 million in revenue was baseball ($1.9 million).
Three women’s sports reported more than $1 million in revenue: basketball ($1.2 million), lacrosse ($1.07 million) and soccer ($1.1 million).
Of the athletic department’s $120,314,967 in total reported expenses, $34.4 was attributed to football and $12.4 to men’s basketball. The only programs at UNC to not report more than $1 million in expenses were the men’s and women’s fencing teams (each around $300,000) and women’s golf ($927,775). Basketball was the most expensive women’s sport, reporting around $4.5 million in expenses. Notably, that number exceeds the figure reported by baseball, which logged $3.2 million.
$25.4 million of the department’s expenses went to coaching salaries, benefits and bonuses. The highest figure in the salary table belongs to football head coach Mack Brown, who received $3.8 million in 2021-22. Hubert Davis received close to $2 million, with no other men’s or women’s head coach coming close to either number. Women’s basketball head coach Courtney Banghart received $651,141 during the 2021-22 season, women’s lacrosse head coach Jenny Levy received $473,721 and women’s soccer head coach Anson Dorrance received $329,377.
The department spent approximately $2.5 million on recruiting during the season, with more than half of that going to football. Almost $10.5 million was spent on team travel, and this time men’s basketball took the lead. The Tar Heels racked up almost $4 million in travel expenses during the 2021-22 season, more than all of the women’s programs at UNC combined.
Financial reports are generally released in the January following the reported season, meaning the report for the 2022-23 season likely won’t be available for another 11 months.
Featured image via Eli Melet
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