The Pac-12 released financial performance figures from the 2019-20 academic year on Thursday, showing modest gains in revenue and distribution to its member schools over the previous year.
Nearly $403 million was distributed to the 12 schools – averaging $33.6 million – which was an increase from $387 million in the previous reporting cycle, according to tax records. The numbers include revenue generated between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020, which is notable because it does factor in the losses from the abbreviated 2020 football season played in empty stadiums.
“It was a challenging year,” Pac-12 CEO group president Michael Schill said in a statement. “Like everything, the Pac-12 Conference was impacted by the pandemic. I appreciate all the work of Commissioner Larry Scott and the Pac-12 to reduce costs and maximize distributions despite the challenges.”
The bump in revenue is primarily due to slight increases from media rights and bowl-game revenue during the 2019 season, according to the conference. Television rights fees accounted for $361.9 million in revenue (up $10.6 million from 2018-19), while bowl games generated $119 million (up roughly $5 million).
Those increases combatted less revenue than expected from NCAA events, which provided the conference $22.9 million compared to $38 million the year before. That drop is largely due to the cancellation of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2020.
Scott, who will leave his post in June and will be replaced by George Kliavkoff, saw his compensation decrease from $5.3 million to $4.3 million. Kliavkoff’s salary has not been made public, but Schill told ESPN it is competitive with the going rate for other Power 5 commissioners.
The conference’s occupancy costs for its downtown San Francisco location grew from $7.9 million to $8.5 million.