Forbes Article - U of Iowa in deep financial trouble

CyTwins

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Wow. Racist AND broke

But here’s the real answer—spending on football is out of line, not only as compared to the Big Ten, but to their national peers. When you are faced with a big hole in your finances, the first thing you have to do is stop digging. Football spending is the problem.

Iowa Athletics had no financial reserves and acted as if the media revenues would just keep pouring in.
 

3GenClone

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NCAA will bail them, and other conferences, out this season by relaxing enforcement when it comes to donations/fundraising opportunities (to the benefit of P5 programs). It will likely be the final nail in the NCAAs coffin, but it’s the price they will pay to make sure some of the major brands in college sports can live to see another day.
 

qwerty

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Including our own! Our annual debt service is $10m a year, so almost as high as Iowa's.
The $10 million debt service is true but the overall picture is much better. Total University shortfall was projected UP TO $73 million with no fall sports (that includes athletics and academics). Iowa is projecting $100 million in athletics alone.
 

qwerty

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The spending difference for athletics between ISU and Iowa is approx $50 million per year.

 
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SEIOWA CLONE

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How in the hell is EIU that far in debt, while ISU with 50 million less has very little debt to service? I read an article today that said EIU is over spending on football, and I get they redid the South endzone, but 209 million?
 
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theshadow

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Curious where Forbes got the $11M figure for Iowa.

In UI's FY19 and FY20 budgets, facility debt service for athletics was listed at $21.7M and $21.8M, respectively.
 
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Rural

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I've been saying for twenty years that the hospital will end up with the hole in the ground across the street.
 

Cloneon

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Debt to income ratio grows when interest rates are so low. So, these high debts come as no surprise. It'll be up to 'us', to bail them out. Either through taxes, increased spending on college football, or legislative bankruptcy (which in the end is still us through taxes and, inflation or recession)
 
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knowlesjam

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My favorite couple of lines...

"While no one expected a pandemic to upend college sports as this one has, to have the kind of fixed costs (coaching contracts, guarantee games, debt service) that every FBS program like Iowa has, and not have a rainy day fund is malpractice.

Friday’s announcement addressed just $1 million of a $100 million problem- 1%. It begs the question- where is the other 99% coming from?"

As much as we bash Nebraska, it has a rainy day fund of $100M

They might start by reducing the $6M+ that goes to the Ferentz family every year. A $1M reduction in this would have saved the four sports. But my God, depending on Barta to run your athletic program...now that would be best place to start with 100% salary reductions...
 
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Pope

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It's fascinating how quickly Iowa went from the penthouse to the outhouse. Just 6 months ago they decided that with $150+ million in annual income, maybe they should start thinking about setting a little aside each year for savings.

 
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Pope

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Iowa is like the guy who, when he gets a descent raise in his salary, immediately leaves his neighborhood and buys a big beautiful house and a $70,000 shiney new pickup to drive around, and then a year later he gets layed off.
 

Pope

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I thought I heard on the local news last night that Iowa's athletic department has just borrowed $75 million.
 
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CyTwins

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How in the hell is EIU that far in debt, while ISU with 50 million less has very little debt to service? I read an article today that said EIU is over spending on football, and I get they redid the South endzone, but 209 million?

Look at what we paid and got for our SEZ compared to theirs