Iowa State claims $40 million loss if fall sports are canceled

The Ivy League and Patriot League canceled fall sports due to the worsening coronavirus pandemic, a decision that will cost member universities needed revenue.

On Monday, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard provided a look at how much revenue his school could lose this year.

In an open letter, Pollard estimated that Iowa State's athletic department would incur approximately $40 million "in unfunded expenses in the next six months" if fall sports are canceled.  

Pollard wrote:

Some people have incorrectly framed the issue as safety versus revenue generation. The simple fact is that reality lies somewhere in the middle. As leaders, we remain committed to safety first. As I outlined in my letter on June 25, 2020, we are working hard to develop and implement mitigation strategies to reduce the risk to players and fans at events this fall. More details about these plans will be provided in the near future. 

We must also be cognizant of the absolute need to generate revenues to sustain our long-term operations. We felt it was important to be transparent about the financial realities in college athletics today to add some context to the discussion. Although I am most-familiar with our financial situation, many peers have shared similar stories in regards to their financial projections.

Pollard also touched upon the possibility of rescheduling campaigns to the spring: 

Some people have suggested that we should simply play fall sports in the spring when the challenges of COVID-19 could be reduced. Unfortunately, there are no guarantee things will improve in the spring and there are numerous hurdles to overcome. The most-significant challenge is committing another six months of operational costs (roughly $40M in our case) for the fall semester with no revenues to cover those expenses.

He added that the pandemic could cost the university an additional $73 million.

Schools have seemingly begun preparing for what feels like inevitable cancelations of seasons. Stanford, for example, cut 11 varsity programs last week. 

It's believed conferences and universities could make final decisions on fall sports by the end of the month.