Oregon State University President Jayathi Murthy and OSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Barnes shared an update Friday with university trustees about the effects of recent developments with the Pac-12 Conference.
On Aug. 4, five Pac-12 universities – the University of Oregon, University of Washington, University of Arizona, Arizona State University and University of Utah – announced their intent to leave the conference after this academic year. That followed previous departures by the University of Colorado in July and the University of Southern California and the University of California at Los Angeles in June 2022.
OSU Athletics’ budgeted revenues for the current fiscal year, which began July 1, total $95.3 million. Sources of this revenue are: $42.7 million from the Pac-12 and NCAA, which includes $26.8 million in media rights; $14.9 million in ticket sales and Reser Stadium revenues; $10.9 million from donors’ athletic premium seating contributions; $11.3 million in institutional support and student fees; $500,000 from Oregon Lottery proceeds; and $15 million in other revenues, including sponsorships and licensing royalties.
Barnes said that a gap is expected in the next fiscal year due to potential decreased media rights revenues. The next fiscal year begins on July 1, 2024, and will end on June 30, 2025.
OSU leaders said maintaining scholarships for student-athletes will be a priority. This fall Oregon State will have 563 student-athletes involved in its 17 sports programs; this number will fluctuate during the 2023-24 academic year as rosters are finalized ahead of each competitive season. Of those student-athletes, 370 are slated to receive full or partial scholarships during the academic year, totaling $10.4 million.
The university also will continue to prioritize resources to support the holistic development of all student-athletes, Barnes said. These include academic support, mental health services, health care, nutrition, and life skills programming such as career development and financial literacy.
Source: Oregon State University