How Texas Longhorns softball did financially in FY2023
AUSTIN, Texas (BVM) – The Texas Longhorns softball team is eyeing the consensus No. 1 ranking for the 2024 season – but does its revenue, expense and profit figures also paint a similar success story?
The University of Texas at Austin has filed its annual financial report to the NCAA for fiscal year 2023, which covers the reporting year from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. BVM Sports obtained the 82-page filing through an open records request.
Here are the takeaways about the Texas softball program’s revenue, expenses and profits from FY2023.
Revenue
Overall, Texas Longhorns athletics generated $271.1 million in total operating revenue in FY2023, which is a revenue record for NCAA schools. This also marks a substantial increase of $31.8 million from FY2022.
Softball revenue: The Longhorns generated $1.3 million in revenue in FY2023, marking a $200,000 increase from FY2022. Notably, they ranked No. 10 in revenue generation among 17 D-I Longhorns programs. While it is uncommon for college softball teams to crack seven figures in revenue, it’s notable that OU softball earned just shy of $3 million this past reporting year.
Ticket sales: In FY2023, Longhorns athletics garnered $63.3 million in ticket sales – with softball contributing just $206,764. In comparison, OU softball ticket revenue totaled $1.5 million. However, this does mark a significant jump from the $83,907 in ticket revenue earned by the Longhorns in FY2022.
Game programs, novelties, parking and concession sales: The University generated $9.6 million in total from this category. Softball, in particular, experienced a jump – rising from $51,256 in FY2022 to $80,065 in FY2023.
Royalties, licensing, advertisement and sponsorships: Softball brought in $600,034 of the $54.7 million that the University made in this category.
Expenses
Overall, Texas Longhorns athletics spent $232.3 million in total operating expenses in FY2023 – surpassing the previous record by $7.2 million and marking the highest expenditure the department has ever seen.
Team expenses: Softball is the No. 8 most expensive sports program for the Longhorns, spending $3.6 million in FY2023 — which is similar to the $3.4 million spent in FY2022.
Meals: Softball spent a mere $1,608 on non-travel student-athlete meal allowances and food/snacks. In contrast, the programs that spent more than six figures were football ($1 million) and men’s basketball ($177,663).
Team travel: Meals provided to players on the road were reported under “team travel,” but this category also takes into account lodging, air and ground travel. Team travel for softball amounted to $571,531 million in FY2023, which is just 4% of what the university spent across all sports.
Recruiting: Softball decreased its recruiting budget from $73,032 in FY2022 to $60,049 in FY2023. This spending laid the groundwork for the Longhorns to acquire the No. 4 recruiting class in 2023, as well as a number of key players for the 2024 class. Notably, OU softball spent more than double ($130,820) to recruit its players this past reporting year.
Salary: Mike White isn’t the highest-paid college softball coach. In FY2022, he earned $966,228 in salaries, benefits and bonuses paid by the University and related entities. The salary figure jumped to $1,002,963 in FY2023.
Profits
The Texas Longhorns athletic department experienced a remarkable 174% profit surge – jumping from $14.1 million in FY2022 to $38.8 million in FY2023.
Team profits: Softball was not profitable in FY2023; the Longhorns recorded a deficit of -$2.3 million. However, it’s not uncommon for softball teams to operate at a loss. For instance, Sooners softball operated at a -$3.8 million deficit even after winning their third consecutive championship title at the end of the reporting year.
The only profitable teams in Austin were football ($121.9 million) and men’s basketball ($6.5 million).
The next fiscal year report (FY2024) will be available by January 2025. This report will encompass data from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
