How Kentucky football, basketball did financially in FY2023
LEXINGTON, Ky. BVM) – The University of Kentucky’s athletic department has filed its annual financial report to the NCAA for fiscal year 2023.
The filing for FY2023 covers the reporting year from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. BVM Sports obtained the 81-page report through an open records request.
Here are the takeaways regarding UK football and men’s basketball’s revenue, expenses and profits.
Revenue
Kentucky athletics set a department record in FY2023 by generating a total operating revenue of $174.5 million. Previously, the highest revenue attained by the department was $159.1 million in FY2022.
Team revenue: Football raked in $50.4 million in revenue in FY2023 (up $1.4 million from FY2022). Men’s basketball was the only other sports program to generate seven figures in revenue at $32.1 million ($861K increase from FY2022).
Ticket sales: Men’s basketball was the most in-demand sports program to watch – based on the $22 million in ticket sales during FY2023. Football was the only other sport to generate seven figures in ticket revenue – going from $17.1 million in FY2022 to $19.2 million in FY2023.
Game programs, novelties, parking and concession sales: While football generated $3.5 million in this category during FY2023 – men’s basketball made $1,015.
Media rights: Revenue received for radio, television, internet, digital and e-commerce went slightly up for both sports – totaling $15.1 million for football and $4.3 million for men’s basketball in FY2023.
Royalties, licensing, advertisement and sponsorships: Revenue stayed the same for both football ($250,000) and men’s basketball ($74,000).
Expenses
Kentucky athletics across all sports incurred $169.6 million in total operating expenses in FY2023 – marking the highest expenditure in the department’s history. Previously, the highest expenditure recorded was $153.6 million in FY2022.
Team expenses: Football – having expensed $39.7 million – was the most expensive sport to maintain in FY2023 (up $3.3 million from FY2022). Men’s basketball spent the second most at $23.6 million (up $1.5 million from FY2022).
Meals: Football spent $1.3 million on non-travel student-athlete meal allowances and food/snacks, while men’s basketball spent just $207,469 in FY2023.
Recruiting: Men’s basketball reduced its spending on recruiting from $1.2 million in FY2022 to $992,000 in FY2023. Conversely, football increased its recruiting expenses from $918K to $1.2 million.
Coaching salaries: Football’s head and assistant coaching salaries, benefits and bonuses rose by $3 million to total $16.3 million in FY2023 – while men’s basketball increased by just 199K to total $11.3 million.
Team travel: Men’s basketball spent $3.8 million on lodging, meals, air and ground travel – while football spent $2.1 million in FY2023.
Profits
Kentucky’s athletic department posted $4.9 million in profits during FY2023, which is a $537K decrease from FY2022.
Men’s basketball profits: UK men’s hoops made $8.5 million in FY2023. In FY2022, the program made $9.1 million and failed to make the list of the top 10 most profitable college basketball programs.
Football’s profits: UK football recorded a surplus of $10.7 million, which is a decrease from the $12.5 million in profits reported in FY2022.
Overall, football and men’s basketball were the only profitable programs for the UK Wildcats in FY2023.
