Great Article on FCS/FBS Football

[Maroon Forever]

FBS is not a money maker except for the power elite. It costs Western more than it makes them. WKU’s subsidy of athletics is roughly double EKU’s and that is largely football loss. There will be a huge shakeup in the next few years. The budgetary squeeze will be tighter in Bowling Green than in Richmond.

[ekugrad1970]

How might that shakeup look .......will there be the P5 strength and G5 seeing schools dropping to fcs or merging of g5 and fcs.....your thoughts

[EKU05]

FBS is not a money maker except for the power elite. It costs Western more than it makes them. WKU’s subsidy of athletics is roughly double EKU’s and that is largely football loss. There will be a huge shakeup in the next few years. The budgetary squeeze will be tighter in Bowling Green than in Richmond.

That's not entirely true. Those are the numbers if you look only at the athletics budget itself. That program makes money for the school in ways that aren't specifically athletics revenue. It's difficult to quantify, but simply looking at the football program's specific revenue relative to what is spent on it in a vacuum is kind of missing the forest because there's a tree in the way.

The TV exposure of the university alone is a huge deal, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

[EKULFan]

WKU Revenue/School Allocation from year 2017-2018 Vs EKU Revenue/School Allocation. Source USA Today:

106 Western Kentucky C-USA: $30,595,026; $18,608,302; 60.82%

160 Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley: $17,328,835; $14,086,050; 81.29%

As you can see a vast majority of our budget comes from school fees and other school allocations...very small actual income from athletic events.

The yellow number is what the schools actually allocated!

[DannyHopesGhost]

WKU Revenue/School Allocation from year 2017-2018 Vs EKU Revenue/School Allocation. Source USA Today:

106 Western Kentucky C-USA: $30,595,026; $18,608,302; 60.82%

160 Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley: $17,328,835; $14,086,050; 81.29%

As you can see a vast majority of our budget comes from school fees and other school allocations...very small actual income from athletic events.

The yellow number is what the schools actually allocated!

But the true best answer is, of the athletics budget, HOW MUCH comes from football? In other words, is football carrying its water in terms of ROI? This is one big reason why they have wanted to jump to FBS, even the lowest level bowls would be an income stream that would lessen reliance on school fees, etc which would then free up more school budget for non athletic programs

[DannyHopesGhost]

FBS is not a money maker except for the power elite. It costs Western more than it makes them. WKU’s subsidy of athletics is roughly double EKU’s and that is largely football loss. There will be a huge shakeup in the next few years. The budgetary squeeze will be tighter in Bowling Green than in Richmond.

That's not entirely true. Those are the numbers if you look only at the athletics budget itself. That program makes money for the school in ways that aren't specifically athletics revenue. It's difficult to quantify, but simply looking at the football program's specific revenue relative to what is spent on it in a vacuum is kind of missing the forest because there's a tree in the way.

The TV exposure of the university alone is a huge deal, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Completely agree. Been several studies that show winning seasons, progression in playoffs, etc lead to an increase in student enrollment.

[EKULFan]

WKU Revenue/School Allocation from year 2017-2018 Vs EKU Revenue/School Allocation. Source USA Today:

106 Western Kentucky C-USA: $30,595,026; $18,608,302; 60.82%

160 Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley: $17,328,835; $14,086,050; 81.29%

As you can see a vast majority of our budget comes from school fees and other school allocations...very small actual income from athletic events.

The yellow number is what the schools actually allocated!

But the true best answer is, of the athletics budget, HOW MUCH comes from football? In other words, is football carrying its water in terms of ROI? This is one big reason why they have wanted to jump to FBS, even the lowest level bowls would be an income stream that would lessen reliance on school fees, etc which would then free up more school budget for non athletic programs

I would assume that at least 65-70% of WKU revenue comes from football and C-USA! A move up would do wonders for our revenue stream...I don't know what the added cost would be but I'm sure it would be very steep!

But, a move to FBS would be in our best interest...in my opinion!

[ekugrad1970]

Think of our peers from the past: WKU, Appy State, Middle Tenn, Troy, Georgia Southern, Marshall......how are they perceived vs EKU.....hope we get one more chance FBS

[DannyHopesGhost]

WKU Revenue/School Allocation from year 2017-2018 Vs EKU Revenue/School Allocation. Source USA Today:

106 Western Kentucky C-USA: $30,595,026; $18,608,302; 60.82%

160 Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley: $17,328,835; $14,086,050; 81.29%

As you can see a vast majority of our budget comes from school fees and other school allocations...very small actual income from athletic events.

The yellow number is what the schools actually allocated!

But the true best answer is, of the athletics budget, HOW MUCH comes from football? In other words, is football carrying its water in terms of ROI? This is one big reason why they have wanted to jump to FBS, even the lowest level bowls would be an income stream that would lessen reliance on school fees, etc which would then free up more school budget for non athletic programs

I would assume that at least 65-70% of WKU revenue comes from football and C-USA! A move up would do wonders for our revenue stream...I don't know what the added cost would be but I'm sure it would be very steep!

But, a move to FBS would be in our best interest...in my opinion!

I agree we should move up. Until we have a more entertaining product on the field, we won’t get an invite I suspect. I really hope we get one soon though, and that we act on it.

As for the WKU numbers, I would say their revenue stream from men’s basketball may mean football stream is not AS large as that, but I’m sure it is very close to your numbers. Probably closer to 60-65%. The March Madness revenue stream accounts for quite a bit yearly when they make it. 2001 thru 2013 is their modern era best streak though, along with 1980-1995.

[ekugrad1970]

Agreed......we need to make the playoffs and have a least one win there on a regular basis and soon ......then take the first fbs opportunity that comes our way