Big 12 Schools Average $37.7 Million in Distribution, Down Slightly from 2018-19
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced Friday that the Big 12 will be distributing an average of $37.7 million per university, as first reported by Chuck Carlton as The Dallas Morning News.
Prior to COVID-19 decimating the sports world, Bowlsby said the Big 12 was poised for a record-setting year, however the cancellation of March Madness and the reduction in NCAA revenue cost the conference about $14 million. Also, the cancellation of conference tournaments, especially the Big 12 basketball tournaments in Kansas City cost the conference about $18 million.
Bowlsby added that it was harder to make forecasts now for next season, which has resulted in a 10% budget cut for next year.
But the commissioner did go on to add, “I’m optimistic that we’ll start the season, somewhere around Labor Day, and I think we’ll get a crack at it. Now, I also think that we’ll likely have some interruptions, and we’ll have some moments on campuses and even within athletics departments where we have outbreaks, and we’ll have to deal with them in real time. So I’m bullish about our opportunity, and more so than I was 30 days ago to answer your question directly, and I hope I’m even more so 30 days henceforth.”
The Big 12 has also contracted with an outside medical consulting group on how to return to facilities and how to have fans. Iowa State announced last week it plans to have home games filled with at least 30,000 fans, or about half the stadium.
The Big 12 is allowing voluntary workouts on campus to begin starting in two weeks on June 15th.
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