re: LSU Athletics Financial Report Article

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The bigger solution from a purely business standpoint is to quit spending so much on WBB

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On the surface, this is the obvious answer. What's not obvious from a business standpoint is the marketing and social media impact Mulkey and the program has had on a national level.

I have never attended or watched more than a few minutes of women's college basketball in my lifetime nor do I intend to. However, you cant deny that ESPN and the national medias efforts to subsidize and push the sport down our throat has made a huge impact the last few years.

I have no idea how to put a return on investment figure on the Mulkey hire and program expenditures as it relates to brand awareness, but corporations/athletic departments have blown a lot more money in a lot of stupid ways for a lot less exposure.

I worked in the business office of the athletics department as a student for Bo Bhansen. I learned at that time that no matter how good LSU baseball is, it will not out produce men’s basketball in revenue. The TV rights drive revenue for the major sports. Tickets sales and sponsorships are great. But it’s the TV rights.

At that point LSU baseball made money if it made the postseason, which was pretty much every year. So I’m sure that LSU baseball is currently making good money. This was also the Pokey Chapman era and women’s basketball was losing over $1 million a year at that point despite being a perennial contender.

Football is the outlier for tickets, concessions, and sponsorships. When you’re talking about having 80 to 100,000 people at every event, the profits can add up.

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Women’s basketball has a hall of fame head coach with skins on the wall and more coming in the future. It is an investment

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The goal of an investment his to get a high ROI. LSU's not getting that, and very likely never will on WBB simply because the price of that investment is more than the return generated

The counter is that the success does bring attention to the school on a national level. The amount of money that generates is difficult to quantify, but I doubt it is terribly high because no matter what ESPN and other virtue signalers try to tell you otherwise, there just isn't that great of an interest in WBB on a large scale. More than there was 20 years ago? Of course. But still not big.

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I worked in the business office of the athletics department as a student for Bo Bhansen. I learned at that time that no matter how good LSU baseball is, it will not out produce men’s basketball in revenue.

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While still probably true, that gap closed this year. Baseball generated $10M in revenue. (M) basketball generated $13.6. Of course, that's at a time where the baseball program is literally as good as it can get. Basketball is the worst in the SEC. You are correct though, TV money is what drives basketball higher.

On a strictly ticket revenue basis baseball makes more. But it does have some advantages. 35 home games vs. 18 in MBB. Baseball also has luxury suites. Basketball doesn't. The you have to add in the fact that baseball gets to host postseason games. Basketball doesn't.

The argument is LSU shold invest more in baseball. But the question is "to what end"? LSU is ALREADY the market leader in baseball. Additional investment isn't going to make it "better" in that respect. It's going to add more expense...unless that expense (bigger stadium, more suites) generates significantly more revenue to outpace the expense.

Basketball represents a better investment opportunity because it CAN get a lot better...which would generate more revenue.

That McCan’t be!! Has to be McWrong!!!

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I may be confused, but didn’t the athletic department use to give the academic side 10-12 million every year?

Is that still the case

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LSU Athletic Department pays LSU (the school) for the tuition and fees, housing, etc. for the scholarship athletes. A pure donation from the AD to the school was discontinued several years ago.

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Also WBB and baseball aren't credited with but likely contribute the bulk of value with the $27mm All Other Sports media revenue

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You think that chunk of money is because of swimming and diving? Track and field?

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You think WBB and a very regional sport like college baseball miraculously brings in $27 million in additional general revenue that just gets line itemized elsewhere.

TV contracts and other stuff, yes.

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You think WBB and a very regional sport like college baseball miraculously brings in $27 million in additional general revenue that just gets line itemized elsewhere. TV contracts and other stuff, yes.

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Bud you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. There is a TV contract encompassing all college sports outside of football and men’s basketball. The overwhelming bulk of that tv contract is driven by the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament and to a lesser extent the College Baseball tournament. Due to that distribution not being specific to an individual sport, it is grouped together as a lump sum on the financial reports.

Go read any article about the new TV deal with ESPN.

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Bud you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. There is a TV contract encompassing all college sports outside of football and men’s basketball. The overwhelming bulk of that tv contract is driven by the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament and to a lesser extent the College Baseball tournament. Due to that distribution not being specific to an individual sport, it is grouped together as a lump sum on the financial reports.

Go read any article about the new TV deal with ESPN.

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I have this observation that TD posters that spend most of their time time posting on Poli, lose brain cells per post. You're welcome to quote the article and make assumptions while ignoring actual facts. Dumbest people ever.