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COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri’s athletics department set records for both revenue and expenditures while narrowly staying in the black during the 2023 fiscal year, athletics director Desiree Reed-Francois’ second in charge of the department.

Mizzou athletics brought in $141,558,287 in revenue throughout fiscal year 2023 and spent $141,558,286, leaving just $1 left over, according to financial data submitted to the NCAA.

The athletics department’s revenues ticked upward by 0.3% from fiscal year 2022, which also set a record for the money hauled in by Mizzou. Expenses increased by 12.7% — another record high.

The Post-Dispatch obtained MU’s annual submission to the NCAA’s Membership Financial Reporting System through an open records request. The 2023 fiscal year began July 1, 2022, and ended June 30, 2023.

The data covers the 2022 football season, in which the Tigers went 6-7, and 2022-2023 basketball campaign, which saw first-year men’s coach Dennis Gates take his team to the NCAA Tournament.

The report does not account for the 2023 football season, which drew five consecutive sellouts, the most season tickets issued since 2015 and a New Year’s Six bowl win. The financial impacts of that success are months away from being clear but are likely to help Mizzou at least flirt with an other revenue record next year.

According to MU’s report, ticket sales revenue returned to pre-pandemic levels for the first time in the 2023 fiscal year, coming in at $16,961,664 — more than the $16,124,731 from the 2020 fiscal year.

For the second consecutive year, direct institutional support — budget-speak for funds given or loaned to the athletics department by the university — increased steeply, rising to $22,798,730 from $12,030,003 in the previous fiscal year. Loans must be paid back to the university.

Among the biggest increases in expenditures were severance payments, which more than tripled to $4,356,220, largely due to the firings of former men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin and volleyball coach Josh Taylor.

Spending on equipment and uniforms rose more than 80% to $5,048,904 as some facilities received new weight-room equipment.

Donations to Mizzou athletics fell slightly, from $29,512,444 in the 2022 fiscal year to $28,107,672 in the 2023 fiscal year, though the athletics department did not stage a capital campaign to raise funds like it did in Reed-Francois’ first year.

Media rights revenue grew marginally to $37,519,607, remaining by far the athletics department’s biggest revenue source — more than a quarter of its total cash flow.

Distributions from the Southeastern Conference continued to tumble, dropping 45.4% to $2,634,896. The conference had provided $23 million in supplemental revenue during the 2021 fiscal year to mitigate the financial struggles of the pandemic, pulling those funds from future media rights earnings to give schools a timely lifeline.

Revenue from game-day purchases — programs, concessions and parking — rose in tandem with ticket sales, growing 28.1%. Revenue from Mizzou athletics camps spiked from $329,909 in the 2022 fiscal year to $2,399,277 in 2023.

Other sources of revenue stayed roughly at their previous levels.

Guarantees paid to visiting teams for buy games rose 20.7% to $4,594,079 as Mizzou bought out a road football game against Middle Tennessee State and instead scheduled the 2022 home opener against Louisiana Tech. The vast majority of guarantees expenses went to football, which required $3,610,189.

Coaching salaries also rose 15.5% with the arrival and swift extension of Gates, plus raises given to football coach Eli Drinkwitz. Next year’s budget will likely see this set of expenditures rise again with another raise for Drinkwitz, plus offensive coordinator Kirby Moore. Mizzou’s new defensive coordinator, not yet hired after former coordinator Blake Baker left to take the same position at Louisiana State, is also likely to see a strong salary, and other hires are still expected to be made for the football team as well as other programs.

Spending on recruiting increased by roughly one-third. Of the $2,259,147 spent on recruiting by the athletics department, $1,270,252 went to football, and $791,463 went to men’s basketball. Recruiting expenses include lodging, meals and the value of transportation for prospects.

Personnel costs were once again the athletics department’s largest expense in the 2023 fiscal year, representing 36.5% of outgoing funds.

Mizzou athletics expenses, FY2023

Expenses Category 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23

Athletic student aid $12,284,541 $12,567,402 $12,760,737

Guarantee fees for visiting teams $509,772 $3,805,228 $4,594,079

Coaches’ salaries/benefits/bonuses $20,200,329 $22,072,515 $25,489,017

Staff salaries/benefits/bonuses $18,711,509 $23,740,954 $26,223,471

Severance $1,341,347 $1,288,263 $4,356,220

Recruiting $314,262 $2,106,651 $2,783,303

Travel $5,182,764 $8,478,803 $8,200,422

Equipment/uniforms $2,389,557 $2,768,051 $5,048,904

Game expenses $2,289,877 $3,744,731 $4,380,397

Fundraising, marketing $693,297 $1,090,487 $1,556,220

Camps $103,949 $424,142 $648,629

Facilities debt/rental $28,306,200 $15,888,580 $16,072,913

Spirit groups $177,040 $339,137 $456,490

Medical expenses/insurance $1,503,809 $1,492,121 $1,362,567

Membership dues $99,644 $128,792 $247,176

Athlete meals $1,282,660 $1,144,044 $2,444,176

Overhead/administrative $12,475,671 $16,116,694 $14,488,860

Indirect institutional support $879,691

Other operating expenses $5,765,815 $5,228,908 $8,110,470

Bowl expenses $283,102 $1,362,748 $1,045,586

Bowl bonuses $320,017 $408,958

Total expenses $113,915,145 $125,621,128 $141,558,286

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