According to an article by David Jones from PennLive this morning, "... football pays the freight for everything but men's basketball, the only other sport at Penn State ... that earns a profit." As a long time season ticket holder, I have personally seen the sellout crowds for each match in Rec Hall and the BJC. I find it hard to believe that wrestling doesn't turn a profit.
Does PSU wrestling turn a profit?
- Thread starter cantalup
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I haven’t seen recent numbers, but that is almost certainly still true. Wrestling may be losing less money than any other program at the University though.
According to the most recently available 990s filed and school filings, the Wrestling team and the NLWC do not make a profit.
Excellence costs money. That is why fan donations to the team through the NLC and NLWC are so important. I also look at how the number of wrestlers in the NLWC has increased in the recent grown in the last three years. That growth in my mind helps with recruiting and makes the USA a dominant player internationally. Support of both programs are important. Just look at the donor list for the NLWC. The number of people helping and giving support at any level to the program is amazing. All administrations look at such support when evaluating programs at budget time.
That said, these programs are also not the beggar in the street totally and forever dependent. They are not on life support and under the current leadership never will. I think Cael and Company are continuing looking to improve the income statement and balance sheet. Look how early he jumped on Rokfin. Now look how many other providers are seeing what it brings to programs It was a genius move.
We are blessed thinks this accounting nerd.
Excellence costs money. That is why fan donations to the team through the NLC and NLWC are so important. I also look at how the number of wrestlers in the NLWC has increased in the recent grown in the last three years. That growth in my mind helps with recruiting and makes the USA a dominant player internationally. Support of both programs are important. Just look at the donor list for the NLWC. The number of people helping and giving support at any level to the program is amazing. All administrations look at such support when evaluating programs at budget time.
That said, these programs are also not the beggar in the street totally and forever dependent. They are not on life support and under the current leadership never will. I think Cael and Company are continuing looking to improve the income statement and balance sheet. Look how early he jumped on Rokfin. Now look how many other providers are seeing what it brings to programs It was a genius move.
We are blessed thinks this accounting nerd.
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Excellence also COMMANDS money. How many of us die-hards would pay double to see our boys dolly-whop Rutgers,let alone when the Redrobes come to town!
The NLWC is not actually connected to PSU so donations there benefit only the NLWC and the resident athletes from a financial standpoint. That said the team certainly benefits from the workout partners the NLWC resident athletes provide plus it helps with recruiting.
The Penn State Wrestling Club is affiliated with PSU and every year the Club donates it's excess funds to Penn State Wrestling. In recent years that amount has been over $100K, which helps Wrestling get close to break even, which Cael has stated a number of times is one of his goals.
Lots of us would and do. Since Cael arrived season tickets have tripled or more (not sure of the exact numbers) . However, there is still a waiting list for season tickets.
not to mention the endowments---the starting line-up scholarships are primarily taken care of by private donation (endowments) . I had an opportunity to ask Cael this very question one time, his reply was yes, he had a very strong argument that PSU wrestling was profitable.
NoVa, I do know the distinction that they are separate. Information on the PSU team as stated can be found on the Athletic web site under NCAA Reports and the NLWC 990 can be found at other Non PSU independent sites.
I find it interesting and refreshing that PSU hasn’t jacked up wrestling ticket prices. As money grubby as they are sometimes perceived, supply/demand would imply they could charge a lot more than they do. Glad they are not too tempted to price out their loyal fan base.
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised w a steady $2 per ticket increase every year or two for a while...
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised w a steady $2 per ticket increase every year or two for a while...
Looking at the recent NCAA Reports, Wrestling ticket sales for fiscal year 2019 (ending 6-30-19) were $928,690.
The Programs, Novelties, Concession and Parking category has sales of $54,552.
I'm sure most of that was those famous Rec Hall Hot Dogs.
Looking at it again what impressed me the listing of Restricted Endowment and Investment Income. Wrestling was 3rd for men's sports even beating basketball.
Football. $1,200,000
Ice Hockey. $1,700,000
Wrestling. $ 307,000
Basketball. $ 250,000
Wrestling has some generous followers.
The Programs, Novelties, Concession and Parking category has sales of $54,552.
I'm sure most of that was those famous Rec Hall Hot Dogs.
Looking at it again what impressed me the listing of Restricted Endowment and Investment Income. Wrestling was 3rd for men's sports even beating basketball.
Football. $1,200,000
Ice Hockey. $1,700,000
Wrestling. $ 307,000
Basketball. $ 250,000
Wrestling has some generous followers.
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True costs and profit can be manipulated by smart accountants to work in the university's favor for tax and other reasons. For instance when an event is held are costs only tied to labor and supplies needed to host the even or is a venue overhead charge for a building that had already been fully depreciated, levied? I am sure scholarships count against a sport's P&L as a 'cost' which in my view is more of a soft opportuity cost or missed revenue. If So, do they also count team member's tuition paid as university revenue tied to that sport, I doubt it.
PSU Wrestling Coach's salaries are a drop in the bucket vs football l, but compared to other sports, significant.
I would rather see a simple revenue report across all sorts. I suspect there, wrestling may be top 5, and in comparison nationally, a much bigger jewel in the university"s' crown, probably #2 nationally. At the end of the day revenue is king.
PSU Wrestling Coach's salaries are a drop in the bucket vs football l, but compared to other sports, significant.
I would rather see a simple revenue report across all sorts. I suspect there, wrestling may be top 5, and in comparison nationally, a much bigger jewel in the university"s' crown, probably #2 nationally. At the end of the day revenue is king.
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I believe Cael has said if they could sell the TV rights to PSU wrestling then the program would make a profit. Right now, BTN revenue goes to the school with no calculation as to how much an individual sport might be bringing in.
If you look at PSU’s athletic department as a whole (not just wrestling) expenses increased by 40% from 2013 to 2018. This includes coaching compensation, support and admin compensation (e.g. Sandy’s many highly paid Associate ADs), facilities, game and travel expenses, athletic scholarships, recruiting, competition guarantees, medical, and “other”. The PSU athletic department continues to make more and more money every year, and they continue to spend almost every cent they make.
As for wrestling, Cael and Cody are both extremely smart guys and I believe they run a very tight ship. That said, there’s a lot that goes into running the wrestling program.
according to the latest annual financial report (2018-19 school year), wrestling lost ~$710k.
The only sports to turn a profit are:
Football - $54.2M
Men's BBall - $4.1M
Ice Hockey - $536k
Basketball only turns a profit because of the TV money ($6M) and the NCAA tournament revenue sharing ($2.3M).
Ice hockey relies on it's endowment ($1.7M) to turn a profit, which is actually larger than the football endowment ($1.2M).
The athletic department actually pays the university the cost of each scholarship, which averages out to ~$55k per scholarship.
$20,860,088 paid
379.32 scholarships
If an athlete's tuition is not covered by scholarship, it is paid directly to the University, so it has no bearing on the AD budget.
Same as Dirk Diggler!
So by your logic, if someone attends a wrestling match and they buy a cone at the Creamery, the cost of the cone should count as revenue for the Wrestling program.
My point was ignore all the BS about turning a profit. PSU Wrestling is doing great and the university loves the revenue stream attached from all sources. It is one of the top wrestling revenue programs in the nation, not to mention the added prestige brought by Cael and his 8 championships. There are plenty of other athletic programs at PSU that generate very little revenue along with big loses, and most will do so in perpetuity. Wrestling is one of the most valuable athletics programs to PSU by far.
I agree that turning a profit should not be the end all be all. However, in that same spirit, the value of any college sport should be based on the athletic & educational experience for the athlete, not necessarily on budget, attendance, etc. The University should be concerned that all of their athletes are getting the best experience no matter if it is football, wrestling, or field hockey.
By the time I have the opportunity, I will likely be dead, or we will suck, and everyone is running away in droves. And, I don't see the latter happening.I'm a member of this club...
...Anyone?
PSU not raising season ticket prices is a true market failure. In a truly open market, prices would be raised until an equilibrium is found, which is defined as the point at which I'm able to buy the tickets and no higher.
The true market exists on StubHub. Granted, it is an artificial market due to supply constraints based on a limited # of ticket holders willing to sell. But as much as I would like my seats, I'd hate to see 30 year season ticket holders priced out to my benefit. I can still go when I want, and pay up for the privilege.
But while we are on the subject, donations to the NLWC and PSWC do not benefit you in the season ticket sweepstakes, right? Isn't it just based on points? Maybe @RoarLions1 would be able to shed some light on that.
All of this is true, but is way more serious and helpful than my post deserves
I remember the lead up to The Match against Ohio State. Stub Hub listed the tickets in my section at $600. I hid that from the wife.
PSU revenue from 2017 (below). Will look for more up-to-date figures:
Top Penn State sports by revenue
The lowest revenue sport at Penn State that year was men’s golf, only earning a total of $233,779.
For the women, their lowest total was $292,630, produced by fencing.
The total men’s revenue for 2017 was $103,285,194, and the total women’s revenue was $9,440,388. Penn State also brought in a large amount of revenue not related to specific teams or genders, totaling $31,291,473.
With all the numbers combined, Penn State brought in a total of $144,017,055 from athletics in 2017.
Top Penn State sports by revenue
| Sport | Revenue |
|---|---|
| Football | 81,232,076 |
| Men's basketball | 11,376,448 |
| Men's hockey | 4,468,382 |
| Wrestling | 1,533,821 |
| Women's hockey | 1,205,943 |
The lowest revenue sport at Penn State that year was men’s golf, only earning a total of $233,779.
For the women, their lowest total was $292,630, produced by fencing.
The total men’s revenue for 2017 was $103,285,194, and the total women’s revenue was $9,440,388. Penn State also brought in a large amount of revenue not related to specific teams or genders, totaling $31,291,473.
With all the numbers combined, Penn State brought in a total of $144,017,055 from athletics in 2017.
FLO did this story called "How Much Is Cael Sanderson Worth To Penn State?" on Penn State wrestling in July, 2017 (if you can access it). It includes details on expenses and revenues as well as comparisons with other sports at PSU:
www.flowrestling.org
How Much Is Cael Sanderson Worth To Penn State?
Cael Sanderson is still negotiating a new contract with Penn State University to remain their wrestling team head coach. We analyze how much he might be worth to the school.
More financial reports for the years 2011 to 2019 if you are interested. Scroll down to the second half of the link and click on the pdf for the year you are curious about:
gopsusports.com
And here's an older article on the wrestling team's goal of financial independence:
www.pennlive.com
Financial Reports
And here's an older article on the wrestling team's goal of financial independence:
Numbers show Penn State wrestling team inching closer to goal of financial independence
No matter how much excitement and passion fans show for wrestling and wrestlers and coaches show for their sport, it's still a numbers game. Roster size, scholarships awarded, recruits per season, overall budgets - they all have a number attached....
i was up in state college that weekend with some buddies for a reunion and hockey. i think i remember checking prices on friday night and the cheapest tickets were like 120 after fees, then waking up on saturday morning and checking so see they were like 150, then when it got to decision time about 2 hours before the start they were up over 200. we ended up just watching the duel at champs downtown and it was a great experience, but damn i still regret not being there in rec hall that night.
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