Tennessee Vols project $10.1 million drop even with fans in stands
The Tennessee Vols project a major budget shortfall for 2020-2021 even with Volunteers fans.
On Thursday, news broke that the Tennessee Vols were projecting a $10.1 million budget shortfall in athletics for the 2020-2021 academic school year. That news was significant enough. However, it got even more significant on Friday.
According to Teresa M. Walker of AP News, that number is projected even with fans in the stands. As of now, nobody knows what’s going to happen due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that made the idea of a budget shortfall reasonable to understand.
However, Walker reports that UT president Randy Boyd said Friday a reduction in the number of fans, even if there are fans, would hurt the overall budget. To be fair, he did say the Tennessee Vols are still prepared to withstand “significant problems.”
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Obviously, all universities took a major hit in athletics for 2019-2020, particularly since March Madness, one of the greatest revenue generators, was canceled a week before it was set to begin. Rocky Top was not spared that hit, as they didn’t get to play an SEC Tournament game either.
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After averaging just under 75,000 fans in attendance for football games last year, there was an expected uptick this year due to the expectations behind Jeremy Pruitt. After all, his team won six straight games to finish last year with an 8-5 record, and entering his third season, he just secured a top 10 recruiting class.
Walker reports that UT expects to rake in $129.5 million for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which ends Tuesday, June 30, despite a $139.6 million budget. The expected revenue in season-ticket sales for 2020-2021, as of right now, is $29.8 million, over $7 million less than what they brought in this previous year.
None of us know how this will play out long-term, but even if things do return to a state of normal, it’s not likely that there will be the same number of people itching to get out this Fall. As a result, this shortfall is understandable.
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What happens with the Tennessee Vols, and all college programs for that matter, remains up in the air. The only question at this point is whether or not they are prepared to handle the worst, depending on the effects of COVID-19 over the next few weeks.