STILLWATER – Anyone who’s in tune, even just a little bit, to Oklahoma State athletics over the past year knew the financial situation for the Pokes in 2021 wouldn’t be ideal due to COVID-19. Pokes Report’s Robert Allen wrote an article a little more than a week ago about Iowa State’s situation and how Cyclone athletic director Jamie Pollard addressed his fan base and explained the financial situation for the foreseeable future.
Many people wondered about Oklahoma State’s financial situation during the pandemic and where the Pokes stood, but there had been no message out of Mike Holder’s office. Until Now.
Scott Wright of The Oklahoman wrote an article on Thursday detailing OSU’s financial situation for the rest of the 2021 year. According to a financial report filed to the NCAA by Oklahoma State that was obtained by The Oklahoman, OSU’s total 2020 revenue was $93,608,058, with a grand total of expenses coming out to $92,501,090, resulting in a $1,107,968 net profit.
Related: Mike Holder emails season ticket holders to discuss the upcoming 2021 football season
“By the time COVID hit in full force in March, most of our revenue had been realized, either from the Big 12 Conference, from football season and basketball season other than the postseason tournaments themselves,” OSU athletic director Mike Holder told The Oklahoman. “Most of the hay was in the barn.”
However, 2021 doesn’t look to be anywhere near the 2020 numbers. The Oklahoman reports football brought in between $10-12 million during the 2020 season, a drop from the $37 million football generated during the 2019 season.
“Football and basketball games, we’re at 25% capacity,” Holder told The Oklahoman. “We reduced the number of football games. We lost some television games for football. What I anticipate for this fiscal year is for the Big 12 distribution to be significantly less for every institution. I think the same can be said for basketball.
“And then the revenue from home games in football and basketball will be significantly less. It’s a completely different challenge this year.”
You also have to figure in the capacity reduction to 25%, as well as reduced television money and reduced financial contributions from the fan base. The athletic department tried to recoup some of the money by reducing salaries and laying off employees in every department, as well as budget cuts across the board.
“But there’s no way that we could cut expenses to the point to match the difference in the amount of revenue we’re generating. So there’s going to be a shortfall at the end of the year,” Holder told The Oklahoman.
Something that certainly could help Oklahoma State’s bank account is the fact they’re planning on full capacity in Boone Pickens Stadium for the upcoming 2021 football season with numbers in the on-going COVID-19 pandemic going down. Obviously, there’s no way to predict how things will be in six months, let alone in one month, but things seem to be trending in the right direction.
