[calfan]

Let’s ask Gemini whether cal football’s financing.

Cal football, as part of the broader UC Berkeley athletics department, consistently operates at a significant deficit, relying heavily on campus support and facing major financial challenges due to reduced media revenue from its move to the ACC, resulting in multi-million dollar shortfalls even after factoring in subsidies, despite efforts to generate more income. For instance, in FY2023, the athletic department had roughly $120M in revenue but $149M in expenses, with about $35M coming from central campus, indicating a substantial operating loss.
Key Financial Picture
FY2023 (Reported): $120M Revenue vs. $149M Expenses (with $35M campus support) = ~$29M Loss (before support).
FY2022: $120.5M Revenue vs. $116.8M Expenses (with $29.1M campus support) = ~$25.4M Shortfall without support, notes Sports360AZ.
Major Financial Pressures
Reduced Media Revenue: Moving to the ACC means Cal receives only about 30% of a full share for the first seven years, a significant drop from Pac-12 earnings, creating an annual shortfall.
High Debt: Cal's athletics department carries substantial debt, with one report highlighting nearly $440 million in outstanding athletic debt as of 2022-23.
Campus Subsidies: The athletics department relies heavily on central campus funding (student fees, general funds) to cover its operating deficits, a situation also faced by UCLA, notes swimswam.com.
Rising Costs: Increased expenses, including potential costs for NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) payments to athletes, add to the financial strain, say The Mercury News and Sports Illustrated.
The Role of Football
A successful football program is crucial for generating revenue through ticket sales, donations, and merchandise, but Cal's recent performance hasn't been enough to overcome these systemic issues, note The Mercury News and writeforcalifornia.com.
In essence, Cal football isn't a profit center but a significant cost center within a struggling athletic department that needs substantial ongoing financial support from the university to function, says The Mercury News and writeforcalifornia.com.

Maybe Calfan shouldn’t be here lecturing us on responsible spending.

BC

I'll assume since you went to Stanford you're not a (complete) idiot and you understand the point you make in an attempt to have a snippy comeback is terrible. Cal football does not run a deficit, it is a significant revenue generator. Our WIDER athletic department posts losses, largely owing to our 30+ sports that we are not equipped to support as a cash-strapped public school. Our football program easily sees more than a dollar returned for every dollar put in. It would clearly make sense to run up our revenue generation programs (football, marginally MBB) while cutting costs elsewhere (pains me to say as a baseball fan, but that's a good example).

I know the reply was meant to be flippant but come on. You couldn't at least give the AI generated response a cursory glance to see if it made any intuitive sense? What are they teaching you guys down on the Farm? I know the classes are a joke but... (I'm kidding, all love)

[calfan]

Let’s ask Gemini whether cal football’s financing.

Cal football, as part of the broader UC Berkeley athletics department, consistently operates at a significant deficit, relying heavily on campus support and facing major financial challenges due to reduced media revenue from its move to the ACC, resulting in multi-million dollar shortfalls even after factoring in subsidies, despite efforts to generate more income. For instance, in FY2023, the athletic department had roughly $120M in revenue but $149M in expenses, with about $35M coming from central campus, indicating a substantial operating loss.
Key Financial Picture
FY2023 (Reported): $120M Revenue vs. $149M Expenses (with $35M campus support) = ~$29M Loss (before support).
FY2022: $120.5M Revenue vs. $116.8M Expenses (with $29.1M campus support) = ~$25.4M Shortfall without support, notes Sports360AZ.
Major Financial Pressures
Reduced Media Revenue: Moving to the ACC means Cal receives only about 30% of a full share for the first seven years, a significant drop from Pac-12 earnings, creating an annual shortfall.
High Debt: Cal's athletics department carries substantial debt, with one report highlighting nearly $440 million in outstanding athletic debt as of 2022-23.
Campus Subsidies: The athletics department relies heavily on central campus funding (student fees, general funds) to cover its operating deficits, a situation also faced by UCLA, notes swimswam.com.
Rising Costs: Increased expenses, including potential costs for NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) payments to athletes, add to the financial strain, say The Mercury News and Sports Illustrated.
The Role of Football
A successful football program is crucial for generating revenue through ticket sales, donations, and merchandise, but Cal's recent performance hasn't been enough to overcome these systemic issues, note The Mercury News and writeforcalifornia.com.
In essence, Cal football isn't a profit center but a significant cost center within a struggling athletic department that needs substantial ongoing financial support from the university to function, says The Mercury News and writeforcalifornia.com.

Maybe Calfan shouldn’t be here lecturing us on responsible spending.

BC

I'll assume since you went to Stanford you're not a (complete) idiot and you understand the point you make in an attempt to have a snippy comeback is terrible. Cal football does not run a deficit, it is a significant revenue generator. Our WIDER athletic department posts losses, largely owing to our 30+ sports that we are not equipped to support as a cash-strapped public school. Our football program easily sees more than a dollar returned for every dollar put in. It would clearly make sense to run up our revenue generation programs (football, marginally MBB) while cutting costs elsewhere (pains me to say as a baseball fan, but that's a good example).

I know the reply was meant to be flippant but come on. You couldn't at least give the AI generated response a cursory glance to see if it made any intuitive sense? What are they teaching you guys down on the Farm? I know the classes are a joke but... (I'm kidding, all love)