The pandemic has dented Michigan State’s athletic budget.
Spartan Stadium (Photo: Nick Schrader/Michigan State University)
The department continues to operate at a loss for the second straight year, primarily due to the lack of fans in the stands a year ago, the Detroit Free Press reports:
The school’s athletic department suffered a $15.4-million shortfall during the pandemic-disrupted 2020-21 fiscal year, according to documents provided to USA Today via the Freedom of Information Act.
Documents show MSU cut $43.5 million in expenses last year and spent just under $105 million over the period that began on July 1, 2020, and ended on June 30, 2021. The athletic department received only $89.5 million in revenues, down $41.1 million from the previous year.
The decisions by the state of Michigan and the Big Ten to not allow fans to attend football and basketball games for much of those seasons proved to have the biggest impact on MSU’s bottom line.
