The University of Connecticut, five years removed from winning both the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, has reported a $40.5 million athletics budget deficit in 2018.
In an NCAA financial statement, UConn reported that total generated revenue from sports last year totaled $40.4 million, while expenses came in at $80.9 million, according to the Associated Press.
With most of its athletic programs in the American Athletic Conference, UConn struggles to compete fiscally with similar programs in the higher revenue-generating Power Five conferences. According to the AP report, the school reported receiving $7.1 million in conference distribution funds last year and another $1 million in media rights, down from $7.3 million reported in 2017. By comparison, the average school distribution for the Southeastern Conference was reported to be about $41 million and Big Ten schools reportedly received an average of about $38.5 million.
"It is not sustainable and the Division of Athletics is continually working to identify savings and drive up revenue in order to help close this gap," UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said.
To help close its budget gap, the athletic division received $30 million in institutional support and another $8.5 million from student fees last year. That was down from $34 million in institutional support in 2017.
Athletic director David Benedict has said UConn's financial struggles won't impact the planned construction of new baseball, softball and soccer stadiums, which are being paid for mostly through private donations.
The school has not said whether it is contemplating eliminating any athletic programs, according to the AP.
