The pandemic knocked the wind out of the billion-dollar industry of college athletics 鈥 stalling seasons, cutting championships and preventing fans from packing college stadiums.
St. Louis-area universities were among those that felt the financial hit, though not all in the same way.
Division I programs, such as St. Louis University's men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball teams, stare down large budget holes typically filled by millions of dollars in ticket revenue, while many smaller collegiate programs less reliant on ticket sales are rebounding after embracing some belt-tightening and low-cost recruiting techniques. Some schools, including Maryville University and Lindenwood University, are even adding new sports.
SLU鈥檚 athletic department is hoping that that widespread COVID-19 vaccine distribution will mean that fans, and the money they bring with them to games, will come back strong next school year.
Ticket sales at Chaifetz Arena, SLU basketball鈥檚 home court, plummeted this past season because of coronavirus restrictions. The university limited ticket sales at the 10,600-seat arena to 1,500 for each home game 鈥 14% of its capacity.
SLU Athletics Director Chris May declined to say exactly how much money the department lost during the pandemic to missing ticket sales but says it was significant.
鈥淢en's basketball is the big driver, and that's where we drive the lion's share of our revenue,鈥 May said.
SLU鈥檚 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball teams generated about $10 million in the 2018-19 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That accounts for 40% of SLU鈥檚 athletic department budget that school year.
May said he expects basketball ticket sales to recover next season and doesn鈥檛 plan on changing the revenue model for the future.
鈥淔ortunately, we've been significantly more successful than some of our current counterparts in the business,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e're looking forward to next year when we can really drive the revenues at a maximum level.鈥
鈥淪uccess,鈥 to May, means not having to tell student-athletes or coaches that SLU is cutting their programs.
Several large universities cut sports programs this year, including the University of Iowa, Stanford University and the University of Minnesota. In total, 18 collegiate teams were dissolved in the NCAA鈥檚 Power Five conferences as a direct result of the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Many athletic departments found ways to stay afloat by cutting travel costs and adopting virtual recruiting. The NCAA in March 2020 implemented a 鈥溾 in which all Division I college coaches are prohibited from traveling to recruit or hosting recruits until May 31.
The money-saving change helped Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville stabilize its athletic department budget. Smaller universities, including SIUE, rely predominantly on student fees to fund athletic programs, rather than ticket sales.
Sports keep students on campus and help boost enrollment and retention, SIUE Athletic Director Tim Hall said. That鈥檚 why he views cutting programs as a last resort.
鈥淚n the immediacy, it feels penny-wise. 鈥楬ey we鈥檒l save some money,鈥 but in the long term, pound foolish,鈥 he said.
During the pandemic, college enrollment , disproportionately affecting students at high schools with low-income and majority-minority populations. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, where that data comes from, called the drop 鈥渁n unprecedented one-year decline.鈥
鈥淚 don't know that there's a leader in higher education anywhere who's not, at least for a quarter of their day, thinking about enrollment and retention strategies,鈥 Hall said.
Hall said he plans to continue to use virtual recruiting to reach students outside the Midwest.
Maryville and Lindenwood also plan to continue the virtual recruiting tactics they adopted in 2020.
鈥淣one of our rosters this year were lacking for numbers because of the pandemic. Our rosters were full as we needed them to be, and we were able to do that without leaving campus,鈥 said Lonnie Folks, Maryville鈥檚 athletic director.
鈥淲e can recruit kids from Texas now because it's all virtual anyway,鈥 Folks said.
Maryville plans to add NCAA Division II men鈥檚 volleyball and field hockey next year. Lindenwood added archery and reinstated weightlifting, a sport it originally cut in May 2020.
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