Alabama football spent $3.3M on meals; More about FY2023
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (BVM) – The University of Alabama’s athletic department has filed its annual financial report to the NCAA for the 2023 fiscal year. BVM Sports obtained the 81-page report through an open records request.
Here are the takeaways about the Crimson Tide football team’s revenue, expenses and profits.
Note that fiscal year 2023 covers the reporting year from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Many can recall that Alabama missed out on the 2022 College Football Playoffs and finished the season 11-2 overall.
Revenue
Alabama athletics across all sports generated $199.9 million in total operating revenue in FY2023. Back in FY2022, the department made $214.4 million and ranked as the third-highest revenue-generating college athletic department in the country (behind Ohio State and Texas).
Alabama football’s revenue in FY2023 was $129.3 million (a $1.6 million decrease from FY2022). Men’s basketball made the second-most in revenue at $20.6 million.
Ticket sales from football went down from $40.6 million in FY2022 to $37.9 million in FY2023.
Revenue from royalties, licensing, advertisement and sponsorships for football stayed relatively the same – equalling $2.7 million in FY2023. Football’s media rights increased by $1.6 million to reach $27.7 million.
Expenses
Alabama athletics across all sports spent a record-shattering $212 million in total operating expenses in FY2023. The previous record was $195.9 million expensed in FY2022.
Football used up $83.3 million to run the program in FY2023, which is an additional $4.8 million compared to FY2022.
An eye-popping figure under football’s expenses deals with “non-travel student-athlete meals” (meal allowance and food/snacks) – which skyrocketed from just $503,093 in FY2022 to $3.3 million in FY2023. Women’s rowing spent the second most ($528,119), followed by men’s baseball ($323,404).
Meals provided to football players on the road were reported under “team travel,” but this category also takes into account lodging, air and ground travel. Team travel for football amounted to $2.5 million in FY2023.
Regarding football recruiting, Alabama was positioned in FY2022 at No. 7 on the list of college football teams that spent the most money on recruiting ($2.3 million). The newest numbers reveal that Alabama football spent $2.9 million on recruiting in FY2023.
Additionally, head and assistant football coaching salaries, benefits and bonuses rose from $20.7 million in FY2022 to $21.3 million in FY2023.
Profits
Alabama’s athletic department as a whole operated at a loss in FY2023 – recording a deficit of -$12,116,425. That’s a harsh comparison to the $18.5 million profits posted in FY2022.
The University of Alabama noted about the deficit that, “$14.3 million in gifts were collected during FY2023, but were excluded from the report because those gifts were not expensed [within the reporting year].” In other words, the department would have been in a surplus if the gifts were actually used in FY2023.
Fortunately, Alabama football did total a profit of $45.97 million in FY2023. Notably, in FY2022, Alabama didn’t make the list of most profitable college football teams after making $52.3 million in profits.
Outside of football, the only other profitable team on Alabama’s campus in FY2023 was men’s basketball ($7.8 million).
Overall, the next fiscal year report (for FY2024) will be available by January 2025. This report will encompass data from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 – which will represent an almost equal split between Nick Saban’s and Kalen DeBoer’s time in Tuscaloosa.
