Mizzou athletics operates in the red again despite ticket bump from Michael Porter Jr.

For the second consecutive year, Missouri’s athletic department operated in the red, running a deficit of nearly $2 million, according to financial documents obtained by The Star.

According to figures included in the school’s submission to the NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System, Mizzou generated $107,351,581 of revenue during the 2018 fiscal year, the second year under athletic director Jim Sterk. That’s a 9.7 percent increase from 2016-17. The department spent $109,158,122 in 2017-18, which is a $7 million dollar increase from the previous year.

The report encompassed Missouri’s first NCAA Tournament berth in five years during Cuonzo Martin’s inaugural season as men’s basketball coach and Barry Odom’s 7-6 record for the 2017 football season that ended with a loss in the Texas Bowl.

Basketball ticket sales saw a $2 million dollar increase, mainly because of the addition of Michael Porter Jr., who started an an overnight frenzy that saw Mizzou Arena go from barren to sold out. Porter Jr. only played three games at Missouri because of back surgery, but MU still benefited financially from his signing.

Despite Porter Jr.’s presence, overall ticket revenue dropped from just under $18 million the previous fiscal year to $17.5 million in 2017-18. Drew Lock’s return and a second consecutive postseason appearance for the football program still weren’t enough to combat dwindling attendance issues and with the south end zone demolished because of a new facility being built for the 2019 season, MU was unable to sell out a football game in a reduced-capacity stadium.

Football ticket revenue dropped to $10.5 million from $11.05 million. Football attendance took another slight decline in Odom’s third year running the program, with an average of 51,466, down from 51,490 in 2017.

Missouri’s new south end zone complex will feature more luxury seating, which is becoming a national trend in college sports. Two consecutive bowl appearances and former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant’s commitment to Missouri could give MU hope to rebound for the 2019 season.

The university’s enrollment continues to increase, as Missouri moves further away from the November 2015 protests that raised concerns among parents and minorities about sending their kids to MU. Freshman enrollment increased 13 percent at MU from 2017 to 2018, but total enrollment dropped 3.3 percent, partly because of the smaller classes that came in shortly after 2015.

Media rights continued to be the biggest source of revenue for the athletic department, bringing in $38 million, a slight increase from $34.7 million in 2016-17.

Donor contributions continued to increase under Sterk, bringing in $25,627,111, roughly a $3 million increase from 2016-17. Contributions were $17.8 million when Sterk took the job in 2016. That doesn’t include money earmarked for future projects. Missouri has already raised the money for the south end zone facility and bonded the rest of it. Missouri recently launched the 1839 campaign, an attempt to double the size of its 7,000 donors to 18,039, which would put MU third in the Southeastern Conference.

The department saw a decrease in coaches salaries, which came in at $19,689,886, a $2 million dropoff from last fiscal year. That number will likely increase next year as Odom’s recent contract extension and increased salary pool for his assistant coaches kicks in.

Missouri’s overhead and administrative costs continued to rise to $17.4 million, nearly a $3 million increase. Last year’s increase was because of the construction of program’s two-year old softball facility and part of the cost of the south end zone could have factored into the rise.

“The way the softball project worked, all the expense hit in that year,” said Tim Hickman, Mizzou’s deputy athletics director and CFO, last year.

The department received a $1,015,000 subsidy from the university, which is the same as the past few years. A USA Today database built with last year’s financial reports sent to the NCAA listed that as the 21st smallest amount of any school in the country — including 14 athletic departments that take no subsidy. Seven SEC schools took less of a subsidy from their school than MU does, according to the database.

This story was originally published January 30, 2019 at 1:38 PM.