MEAC, SWAC Lead FCS Conferences in 2008 Revenue
TSPNSports.com is continuing its series on financial accountability from the HBCU conferences, and its recent post may catch some people off guard. Seems that the MEAC and SWAC are number one and number three in the top grossing FCS athletic conferences, according to 2008 taxes filed with the IRS.
It’s not shocking that black colleges are getting decent money in comparison to other mid major conference. They have loyal, generational fan bases, corporate connectivity, and sustainable brand names among a niche audience. But three things stand out about these numbers.
One, who would’ve guessed that the MEAC would get more money than the SWAC? On the strength of football classics alone, I would’ve guessed that the SWAC would have topped this list. But the MEAC doesn’t slouch with football, and clearly makes the lion’s share of its profits from basketball. And when you consider that much of the MEAC is CIAA transplanted, it makes sense that they can captivate conference loyalists past and present.
The second pressing thing – the MEAC and SWAC generate this kind of revenue with virtually no marketing. Imagine if they were actually motivated to become community brands? They wouldn’t be far off from some of the lower BCS conferences in the way of earning potential.
And finally, I find it striking that the MEAC and SWAC are among the top grossing conferences in mid-major sports, but their member schools are among the poorest in the way of facilities and individual marketing. How is it that the members schools can make the conference rich, but miss out on the jackpot to upgrade their own facilities, hire better coaches, and market to fans? Doesn’t make a lot of sense.
So, yeah. It’s great that the conferences are doing relatively well on the mid-major landscape, but it shouldn’t absolve them from the accountability to reach their full potential. And if fans are smart, they will hold these numbers over the commissioners’ heads for 2010 and beyond as benchmarks to be surpassed annually.
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And we are thankful for your research. The more accountability from commissioners, ADs and fans, the better off our sports will be for future generations to appreciate them.
JC, you ask some good questions. The questions you ask are not unusual and are common for those who follow our HBCU conferences. It is my plan to provide answers.