NU beats a bad economy

Kathy McMichael, owner of the Husker Heaven retail store in Omaha, recently talked to a friend from Colorado who typically attends every Husker home game.

He spoke of what a tough time his health care-related business was having this year.

Does that mean, she asked, that you won't be coming to Lincoln for all the games?

Dumb question.

He'll be there when the Huskers open against Florida Atlantic this Saturday, and this fall's six other home games. Of course, he plans to be in Boulder for the season finale against Colorado, too.

University of Nebraska football may not be completely recession-proof. But as a new season kicks off, it appears a tough economy has been no match for the state's Big Red passion.

The record sellout string at Memorial Stadium this season will stretch to 300 straight and beyond. Fans renewed season tickets at nearly a 98 percent clip. And ticket sales for road games suggest that Husker fans remain poised to paint opponents' towns red.

NU has seen no drop-off in sponsorship dollars or donations, and revenue from sales of licensed merchandise appears to be on the rise. It seems many fans still find money in the budget for that new “Bo Big Red'' T-shirt.

And the NU athletic budget, which depends on football for 80 percent of its funding, remains in the black.

“We are very appreciative of the unwavering support of our fans in these difficult economic times,'' NU Athletic Director Tom Osborne said last week.

It's not something he or other athletic officials take for granted.

Scan the headlines around the country and it seems the loyalty to Good Old State U. has its limits. Season ticket sales were reportedly off 13 percent at Florida State, 17 percent at Purdue, 14 percent at Virginia, 8 percent at Maryland and 2 percent at Tennessee.

At the University of Iowa, season ticket sales are down 2 percent. Iowa State officials declined to release any figures on tickets.

To be sure, it certainly has helped Nebraska that the downturn here hasn't been as bad as many places.

But Dan Fulks, a professor at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., who studies college athletic budgets, said he's still not surprised to see Nebraska's finances holding strong.

Nebraska is one of several dozen powerhouse athletic programs in the country that may well be immune to a down economy, he said. He would put schools such as Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Ohio State in that class, too.

“Nebraska is Nebraska,'' Fulks said. “I would expect an elite program like that to be less impacted than other schools.''

No doubt, athletics at Nebraska are a major enterprise, with 23 sports and an annual budget of $75 million. And football largely makes it possible.

Nebraska is one of only a handful of schools nationally whose athletic departments are not only self-supporting, but support academics as well. Each year, the department funds a $2.5 million chancellor's discretionary fund.

But Osborne said Nebraska's sellout string and financial stability could have come into question had it endured too many more seasons like 2007. That team suffered several embarrassing defeats en route to a 5-7 finish — NU's worst in almost a half century.

Last year's team rebounded to 9-4 under Bo Pelini, and most fans are bullish about the program's direction. That enthusiasm appears to be overriding any economic concerns.

That's also good news for stores selling Husker products and game-day bars and restaurants in Lincoln, all dependent on football for their livelihood. The team's record seems to affect their bottom line more than the athletic department's as a whole.

“Our recession was the Bill Callahan era,'' said Scott Strunc, owner of the Husker Hounds retail stores in Omaha.

Now, even with the economy down, Strunc and McMichael say their sales are up. Strunc recently opened an expanded new store in west Omaha.

“I'd be a fool to think we're recession-proof,'' Strunc said. “But my business is completely fueled by Husker fans' emotions, and they're running deep right now.''

Still, some Husker fans are hurting financially, and it could affect how some choose to partake in the new season.

Some may be more inclined to resell their tickets. Last week, there were dozens of NU season tickets advertised in The World-Herald and online. Finances also may affect whether some fans go to bars to watch the games or buy the three pay-per-view broadcasts.

But given the financial pain out there, McMichael said, the state now more than ever needs the diversion of Nebraska football.

“With all the talk of foreclosures and people out of work, something positive like Husker football is a real shot in the arm,'' she said. “It couldn't be coming at a better time.''

Many prominent athletic departments have gone into budget-cutting mode.

The University of Miami and Virginia Tech are busing to games they would have flown to in the past. Stanford and Texas A&M have cut athletic staff, and Iowa State is among many schools dropping printed sports guides.

In more drastic actions, Northern Iowa cut baseball, and Washington cut men's and women's swimming.

Nebraska has done some cutting, too, Osborne asking staff to find $1 million in savings when the current budget was set.

The cuts weren't related to anticipated revenue losses but to millions in increased expenses, including higher tuition costs for student athletes, increased salaries and utilities, said Nancy Kenny, the athletic department's chief financial officer.

Kenny said she has long been amazed by the loyalty of NU's football season ticket holders. She said most are people with modest incomes who make game days in Lincoln a priority.

That didn't change when, in February, at the height of the recession, season ticket renewal forms went out. They reflected a $2 price increase to $54 per game, a boost that helped pay for scoreboard upgrades in Memorial Stadium.

Only about 2 percent of ticket holders failed to renew — right in line with the 97 to 98 percent retention rate from prior years. The school barely dented its 3,000-account ticket waiting list.

The department worked with some fans who expressed financial concerns, allowing them to use a payment plan.

Also in the midst of the recession, leases on all of the Memorial Stadium skyboxes were renewed, even at higher rates.

As the economy was diving last winter, Nebraska fans gobbled up tickets to the Gator Bowl at the same clip they did for the school's previous bowl trip two years earlier.

This season, the school already has sold out its allotment to all road games except Baylor. An alumni association travel package for a much-anticipated road game against Virginia Tech on Sept. 19 has sold out.

The university contracts with Husker Sports Marketing, an outside firm, to market most of its corporate sponsorships. David Witty, the company's manager, said almost all clients from last season are back this year, and revenues overall are up slightly.

Revenue from the licensing of apparel and other products with Husker logos has been holding steady at $2 million in recent years — though it's almost a million dollars below what the school was raking in when the Huskers were winning national championships in the 1990s.

Derek Eiler of Collegiate Licensing Co. predicted a challenging year ahead for sports apparel sales. But he said schools such as Nebraska should still be well-positioned.

“You could put Nebraska's fan base against anyone's,'' he said.

When the nation's economy will finally recover from this recession remains to be seen. But when it comes to the Huskers, many fans feel the recovery has already begun.

“People are really optimistic,'' McMichael said. “We're on the way back.''

Contact the writer:

444-1130, henry.cordes@owh.com

« Metro/Region

Share