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College News: The NCAA Loss of $375 Million Due to COVID-19… Could It Mean That Softball is in Trouble?

College softball has never been more popular, thanks to exciting events like the Women’s College World Series–here Oklahoma celebrates after winning the 2017 Women’s College World Series–but COVID-19 cancellations of “March Madness” and possibly fall football games could prove damaging to softball and other “non-revenue” sports. Photo: OU Athletics.

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that the loss of the NCAA Basketball Tournament last month, better known as “March Madness,” cost the organization approximately $375 million in expected revenues.

And that could have long-reaching effects for sports such as softball.

The trickle-down effect means that “it will distribute $225 million to its Division I member schools in June, nearly two-thirds less than the $600 million scheduled to be handed out in installments from April to June.”

“Schools that compete in the wealthiest conferences, with billion-dollar television contracts fueled by major college football, might not notice much of a difference in the short term. Schools competing in mid-major conferences are preparing to make sacrifices.”

As a consequence, Sports Illustrated issued a story today, based on an email dated five days ago (April 10) and obtained yesterday by the AP, that “Five major football conference commissioners have asked the NCAA to relax some requirements to compete in Division I for four years, including the minimum number of sports a school must sponsor.”

The SI article continued: “A letter from the commissioners of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Mountain West, Mid-American Conference, Sun Belt and Conference USA to NCAA President Mark Emmert asked for temporary relief from financial aid requirements, along with average football attendance.”

“The request was made on behalf of all 350 Division I schools. The commissioners also asked that a moratorium be placed on schools moving into Division I for the length of the waiver.”

The AP story said that one Power 5 Conference is expecting to get less than half of what was anticipated from the NCAA.

Bob Bowlsby, Big 12 Commissioner

“Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said his 10-member league would have expected about $24 million from NCAA distributions. Instead, he estimated, the Big 12 will receive about $10 million.

“We’re going to take some hits there,” Bowlsby said.

“Bowlsby said the Big 12 is likely to be down $15 million to $18 million total this academic year in terms of revenue, but could tap reserve funds to meet conference distribution projections. Last year, the Big 12 distributed about $35 million to each of its member schools.”

“We have some unknowns in our budget that remain and will probably remain for a while, but I expect that we will be able to make our members whole on what we forecast as this year’s distribution,” Bowlsby said. “It’s a whole new ballgame if we find ourselves not playing football because of this. It affects everything we do.”

*****

According to the Associated Press, the NCAA pulled in more than $1 billion in revenue last year, including $867.5 million from the television and marketing rights for the Division I men’s basketball tournament. But March Madness was canceled March 19, a week before the first round was scheduled to begin.

In the email to the NCAA, the commissioners wrote: “As you are aware, the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant economic turmoil has resulted in the direst financial crisis for higher education since at least the Great Depression.”

The letter from the five conferences reveal what many fearful could happen: so-called “non-revenue” sports—those other than football and men’s basketball—could be reduced or even cut entirely.

Already two of the five conferences who wrote the united letter have seen member schools cut sports: on April 10, the University of Cincinnati in the AAC stated it was dropping its men’s soccer program and prior to that, Old Dominion of Conference USA eliminated its wrestling program.

As the SI article noted, “More hard times appear to be on the horizon, especially for schools outside the Power 5 conferences that can’t fall back on billion dollar television rights deals focused on football.”

Consequently, the email from the five commissioners asked for relief regarding including the lifting of the number of sports each institution is required to have (16) to be a Division I program.

The commissioners also requested lifting rules that required schools:

  • Offer a minimum of 200 athletic grants-in-aid per year or spend at least $4 million in grants-in-aid on athletes, and provide 90% of the permissible maximum grants-in-aid in football over a rolling two-year period.
  • Once every two years on a rolling basis, average at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home football games. This requirement applies only to FBS schools.
  • Play minimum numbers of total games and home games in sports such as baseball, football and basketball and minimum percentage of games against Division I or FBS competition in various sports.
Craig Thompson, Mountain West Commissioner

Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said the request to the NCAA “is about providing schools with the ability to find flexible and creative solutions. How can we maintain the sports that we have but not fund or spend what we have spent in the past?” Thompson told AP.

*****

From a softball perspective, if the 350 Division I schools would have the requirement waived of 16 sports needed to be fielded by an institution to maintain DI status, it could theoretically make it easier for programs to cut sports such as wrestling, soccer, tennis, golf and, yes, softball.

With Title IX protecting women’s sports, it might be tough to eliminate fastpitch softball—especially as it is one of the fastest growing sports at the college level that ESPN is increasingly promoting on its family of networks.

But no one ever thought entire spring sports seasons—and potentially fall sports like football—could ever be so dramatically impacted either.

It’s certainly worth watching to see the long-reaching effects that the loss of “March Madness” and potentially college football could have on softball…

Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball

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