SVEN ALSKOG
STAFF WRITER
Under the direction of Athletic Director Jeff Tingey, the Idaho State University athletic program has seen a complete resurgence in the financial aspects of its operation.
Prior to the transition to a new leader, the athletic program found itself in a less-than-stellar state financially, including overspendings of about $800,000. Under the new regime, there has been a turnaround for the better, including a reserve account that has been added to each year the program falls under the budget, creating over $1,000,000 within it alone. This reserve account will be helpful for when ISU adds another women’s sport at some point in the future.
There are three main areas which ISU athletics relies on to produce self-generated revenues. These are corporate sponsorships, ticket sales and annual giving.
“Half of our self-generated revenue comes from those three things,” said Tingey. “We are the second-highest school in the conference for self-generated funds, meaning that we rely less on the university than the other 11 schools in the conference.”
In the past year, the Idaho Central Credit Union Practice Field has been made possible due to generous donations from ISU boosters. Along with the new practice field, annual gifts from all of the boosters to the program fall in the range of $300,000 to $330,000 to benefit all Bengal athletics.
Over the past few years, boosters have also allowed advancements to multiple athletic facilities to be possible, including the new turf and video board in Holt Arena, the new Miller Ranch Stadium for softball, a new floor for basketball and upgrades to the school weight room facilities.
“Each of these upgrades has been 100 percent donated,” Tingey said.
Along with the generous boosters to the program, road football games with the University of Washington and BYU this season will also help to fund various aspects needed for a successful operation. For participating in these matchups, ISU receives what is called a guaranteed amount, meaning that the two games combined will bring close to $800,000 into the program, although travel expenses for each trip will cut into the total overall amount. Last season, the football team made $600,000 for its game with Nebraska, accounting for around five percent of the total athletic budget last year.
The benefits from traveling to Seattle and Provo go beyond simply financial numbers, as Tingey mentioned that behind Idaho, the state of Washington is the second most populated state on the football roster, creating a good recruiting opportunity. On the other hand, playing at BYU is a good regional matchup for the squad, something that is important for any team.
Home game ticket sales for football and basketball also contribute to all sports at ISU.
“All of our sports are heavily reliant on football and basketball ticket sales, along with corporate partnerships,” said Tingey. “Their [football and basketball] ticket revenue all goes into the same pot as the ticket revenue for soccer, volleyball or any other sport.”
A branding switch from Nike to Adidas effective at the beginning of the fall sports season was made largely due to customer service and financial benefits for the university as a whole, n
