Deadspin.com had a nice piece on the economics of D3 football, headlined “How Division III Colleges Profit From Football No One Watches.”
The gist of the article – it ain’t about selling tickets.
D3 programs exist, according to the article, to provide revenue for their schools. The piece focused on the growing number of startup programs at the D3 level over the past 15 years (including Shenandoah in 2000, Christopher Newport in 2001), and a related piece, at SBNation.com, “The D-III Revolution: How America’s Most Violent Game May Be Saving Liberal Arts Colleges,” explained the basic math.
The average D3 football camp opened with 111 kids on the roster in 2013. With no athletics scholarships to offer, you’re paying full freight, with considerations for financial aid, grants and the like. But at a school like Bridgewater College, a perennial D3 playoff contender, you’re talking $39,800 a head.
The 2013 Bridgewater roster has 155 names. That’s $6.17 million, give or take, in tuition and room and board toward the bottom line.
As for the no one watches part, well, like I said above, it ain’t about selling tickets. Bridgewater is averaging 1,860 fans per game so far in 2013. With ticket prices set at $8 for adults, $6 seniors, $5 for students, and children under six free, you’re looking at around $12,000 in ticket revenues per game. Throw in concessions, and maybe you’re at $20,000 or so for an average home football Saturday at BC.
For a five-game home schedule in 2013, you’re looking at $100,000 in revenue from tickets and concessions. You’re barely paying your head coach and one coordinator at that rate, not to mention the rest of your coaching and training staff, travel, etc.
At least now we know why D3 football is growing so much.
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