The California State University Athletics Department tops the highest revenue in a decade.
In a statement, the CSU Bakersfield athletic department explained how they did it:
The CSU Bakersfield athletic department generated over three million dollars during the 2017-18 fiscal year, a 70 percent increase from 2016-17 and the most the department has raised in a decade.
"Our community continues to invest in our student-athletes and the athletics department," said CSUB Athletics Director Kenneth "Ziggy" Siegfried. "Thanks to the hard work of our staff and the commitment from our community, we continue to set new records in revenue. Having said that, I am 100 percent confident we can do much more. With the support of our community, we can reach once unimaginable heights in our athletics department. I firmly believe that the success of our athletics department leads to continued success of our University and the community."
The Roadrunner Scholarship Fund raised over $700,000 for the fourth consecutive fiscal year and was boosted by 287 new donors. In total, there were 746 donors and over 1,000 gifts. Of those 1,000 gifts, 45 were over $5,000 and four were over $100,000. The Scholarship Fund saw a massive 121 percent increase during the 2012-13 fiscal year, another 24 percent increase in 2013-14 and eclipsed $700,000 for the first time in 2014-15.
Special events like the 46
th Annual Spring BBQ, Brains for Bakersfield hosted by Lengthwise, the CSUB Hot Stove Dinner, and the Gala and Golf Tournament produced over $300,000 of revenue from the department.With corporate partners doubling to 65 over the last few years, revenue has reached $628,000, an increase of about 25 percent over the last fiscal year.
Royalty revenue from CSUB's partnership with Learfield Licensing Partners continued to see significant growth and has reached a record $30,000. In 2016-17, CSUB experienced a 60 percent increase in royalty revenue and enjoyed another 10 percent increase this year. CSUB first partnered with Learfield during 2013-14 fiscal year.
CSUB ticket revenue also continued to see impressive gains. Overall, ticket revenue was nearly $378,000, which is a 29 percent increase over 2016-17. This is third consecutive fiscal year that ticket revenue has dramatically increased. There was a 52 percent increase in 2015-16 and a 33 percent increase in 2016-17. Men's basketball season ticket revenue grew 92 percent over the previous year and season ticket revenue for baseball increased for the seventh consecutive season.
During the 2016-17 fiscal year, CSUB led the Western Athletic Conference in fundraising and was the only public school in the league to raise over one million dollars, totaling $2.44 million.
