Report: Ohio State athletic department loses money for first time in a decade

For the first time in a decade, Ohio State’s athletic department operated in the red.

According to a report from the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State’s athletic department reported a deficit of $10 million last year. Athletic director Gene Smith says the actual deficit was smaller than the reported total, less than $1 million.

“There’s no way I would be sitting here with 36 sports if we had a $10 million deficit,” Smith said. “It just wouldn’t happen. I’d be dropping sports and ticket prices would go up.”

Per the report, administrators say bookkeeping errors are to blame for the $10 million discrepancy. The department says the deficit was $624,359, reporting $210.3 million in revenues and $210.9 million in expenses.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The department said the $10.4 million difference is made up of contributions from so-called “plant funds,” money that was held from previous fundraising efforts. The school allocated the money toward its budget for the 2019 fiscal year, but different external-audit requirements prevented it from recording the contributions on its report to the NCAA.

You can read more on Ohio State’s losses here.