Memphis athletics ticket sales dropped again in 2022-2023, per NCAA financial report

Ticket sales for Memphis athletics dropped again in fiscal year 2023, according to documents obtained by the Commercial Appeal through an open records request.

The department brought in $8,794,838 in revenue from ticket sales, according to the school's NCAA financial report, which was submitted in January. That number dropped from $10,253,609 because ticket sales for both football and men's basketball declined, with football going from $5.4 million to $4.4 million. Men's basketball dropped from $4.6 million to $4.1 million.

Those numbers are for the 2022-2023 seasons. Memphis football went 7-6 in 2022, while the Tigers' men's basketball team won the American Athletic Conference tournament title and went to the NCAA Tournament.

It was another year in which ticket sales dropped from pre-pandemic numbers. Football ticket sales generated $6.8 million in 2019, the last year before the pandemic and the season in which the Tigers hosted "College GameDay," won the AAC title and went to the Cotton Bowl.

Men's basketball's ticket numbers declined again, albeit not as starkly. That team generated $5.5 and $5.8 million 2018-19 and 2019-20, respectively.

Men's basketball expenses drop after Smith's buyout paid

Men's basketball's expenses dropped by almost $4 million from 2021-2022 to 2022-2023. That's likely because the school no longer had to pay a buyout for former coach Tubby Smith, who was fired in 2018. The expenses for 2022-2023 are in line with a normal year without a significant severance payment, meaning the number for future years is likely to be around the same.

The school paid $4.7 million for the buyout in the 2022 fiscal year, so the operating budget was significantly lower in 2023 without that payment.

Football had more than double the expenses of any other team at about $20 million. That number was up about $2 million from the last year. It increased in part because the NCAA allowed schools to provide drastically more meals to athletes, an athletic department official said. Any widespread change that would affect all sports teams is particularly impactful on the football team, which has more athletes than any other team on campus.

Coach Ryan Silverfield also parted ways with three assistant coaches after the 2022 season. That led to severance payments of $119,610, according to the report.

Attendance

Football averaged an attendance of 26,195 in 2022, the season that the report covers. That number rose to 29,782 in 2023, as the team went 10-3 and won the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. It's likely, then, that the ticket sales in next year's financial report will be higher than 2022, which would go against the recent trend.

The Tigers will soon embark on a $220 million renovation of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium that will temporarily shut down one side of the stadium, so 2023 could be the last year of somewhat stable ticket sales until the renovation is complete. The project is currently scheduled to conclude before the 2026 football season.

Men's basketball went in the other direction in 2023-2024, with turnstile attendance numbers dropping slightly from the previous season. That means the ticket sales number could be lower in next year's financial report, which will not be released until January.

Other expenses and revenue

The school's contributions, or donations from individuals or groups, nearly doubled from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023. That's partly because of the way the department sets its budget, a department official said. The department generated more revenue than expected in 2022 and less than expected in 2023, necessitating more contributions to balance the budget.

Team travel also rose from $5.1 million in fiscal year 2022 to $6.5 million in fiscal year 2023.

Royalties and sponsorship rose slightly from 2022 but were up considerably from pre-pandemic numbers. The department generated $3.4 million in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, but generated $5.7 million in 2023.

The department received $650,000 from the football team's victory in the First Responder Bowl from that season. That's another number that will rise in next year's financial report after the Tigers played in and won the Liberty Bowl over Iowa State in 2023.

Ticket sales from women's basketball more than doubled from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023, going from $16,185 to $39,931. The Tigers went to the WNIT in 2022-2023, after which coach Katrina Merriweather left for Cincinnati. Alex Simmons was hired to replace her and guided the Tigers to a 13-17 record in 2023-2024.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis athletics ticket sales dropped again in 2022-2023