Blue White Illustrated

Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics continues to experience revenue growth, with a stabilized budget and increased reserve balance, athletic director Sandy Barbour said during an address to the university's board of trustees on Sept. 13. Speaking to the Committee on Fi- nance, Business and Capital Planning, Barbour outlined the athletic depart- ment's organization, strategic plan, var- ious measures of institutional control and peer institution benchmarking, and reviewed 5ve-year historical and 5ve- year prospective 5nancials. The 5ve- year projections included predictable revenue and reserve fund growth, and expense forecasts. At the conclusion of 5scal year 2013, the impact of the sanctions against Penn State and loss of Big Ten bowl revenues drove the reserve balance down to ap- proximately $150,000. Through a combi- nation of investment strategies, expense- reduction initiatives and a steady climb in both traditional and new revenues, the athletic department had built its reserve balance to approximately $13.1 million as 5scal year 2018 concluded. Those factors enabled Intercollegiate Athletics to earmark $4 million of the 5scal year 2018 reserve balance to the facilities master plan, which was an- nounced in 2017. Barbour said that in the ICA budget projections over the next 5ve years, $4 million will be held and designated for the priority projects out- lined in the master plan. Barbour said that a healthy reserve balance is essential to maintaining Penn State's self-supporting 5nancial posi- tion. This reserve balance can both guard against unexpected 6uctuations in the market and allow for investment in strategic initiatives, such as the facilities master plan, while sustaining a healthy operating budget. As in previous years, the presentation noted that Intercollegiate Athletics sup- ports approximately 800 student-ath- letes across 31 varsity sports (16 men's and 15 women's), with more than 73 per- cent of these student-athletes receiving some type of scholarship support (370 full grant-in-aid equivalencies). Penn State's 31 programs rank in the 5ve high- est totals among all 130 Football Bowl Subdivision institutions. Barbour also discussed ICA's accom- plishments, including several of the aca- demic, competitive and community engagement records and achievements by Nittany Lion students, who have a school-record-tying 90 percent NCAA Graduation Success Rate. During the 2018 spring semester, Penn State stu- dent-athletes posted a record 3.15 grade-point average, with a record- tying 26 teams earning a 3.0 GPA or higher. Since January 2007, Penn State has won 20 NCAA championships, a num- ber that ranks third nationally and is double the next- highest total among Big Ten schools. Intercollegiate Athletics has en- gaged in bench- marking with its Big Ten peers and several other schools nationally, all of which annually compete for multiple NCAA championships, similar to Penn State. Data from the schools' Equity in Athletics Disclosures Act for 5scal year 2016-17 showed that Penn State ranks near the middle in spending per stu- dent-athlete in comparison to Big Ten schools and 12 national public/private institutions: Alabama, California, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Pitts- A D M I N I S T R A T I O N Barbour: Penn State's fiscal projections improving SOLID OUTLOOK Barbour, shown here with PSU president Eric Barron, said the Penn State ath- letic depart- ment's reserve balance has grown to $13.1 million . Photo by Patrick Mansell

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