Losing skid, Les Miles drama didn’t stop LSU from reporting massive profit in 2015
By Andrew Olson
Published:
LSU had its ups and downs on the field in 2015, but a crushing three-game losing streak and the drama surrounding Les Miles’ future didn’t hurt the Tigers from bringing in a nice chunk of change, $85 million to be exact.
Ross Dellenger of The Advocate reported Monday that LSU football made a $55 million profit in 2015, based on numbers provided by a Tiger Athletic Foundation audit and an NCAA financial report released by the school for the 2015-16 academic year. The football program posted $85.096 million in revenue and paid out $29.818 million in expenses, leaving a profit of $55.278 million.
While the exact numbers might be a little less – Football Scoop’s Zach Barnett believes the real profit may be closer to $40 million, with some football-centric projects not listed as football expenses – it’s still quite an impressive haul, and that profit allows the LSU athletic department to operate. On the whole, the department made a profit of nearly $12 million, bringing in $141.6 million in revenue while paying out $129.8 million in expenses.
Barnett believes that fans of college sports can expect to hear the $55 million profit cited in coming arguments about players getting paid. He’s of the opinion that special players like Leonard Fournette have a case for compensation beyond a scholarship, while a bench-warmer like Lanard Fournette is compensated fairly with a scholarship. Dellenger notes that the 2015-16 year was the first time that cost of attendance, a stipend, was added to player scholarships, which increased the athletic department’s spending by $2 million. Coaches have already talked about the varying stipend amounts having an impact on the recruiting trail.
A detailed look at the athletic department’s profits and expenses provided by Dellenger can be found here. Barnett’s full column on athletic profits and compensation is available here.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
