There’s a huge reason athletic directors around the nation are saying they believe college football will be played this fall. If it isn’t, the top schools in the nation stand to lose billions in revenue.
Power 5 schools could lose $4 billion
Speaking with ESPN, Dr. Patrick Rishe, director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis, laid out a stark scenario of financial ruin without college football.
Per the report by Mark Schlabach and Paula Lavigne, “Rishe estimates that the 65 Power 5 schools would collectively lose more than $4 billion in football revenues, with at least $1.2 billion of that due to lost ticket revenue.”
The sentiment of financial ruin was also shared by TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati:
“If there’s no football season, or if football season is interrupted or shortened, there will be a massive fallout,” Donati said. “There would have to be massive cutbacks. Could the department go on? Sure. It would probably look smaller. There would potentially be fewer sports and much less programming.”
Some major schools have already had to cut other sports entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since football is overwhelmingly the main resource for revenue, more schools would inevitably follow suit if it weren’t played this fall.
With all that in mind, we’re expecting college football to be played this fall. Come hell or high water.