Mark Coyle addresses Gophers' budget after regents approve $5.7 million football scoreboard

On a day University regents approved a $5.7 million football video board, Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle made his annual presentation to the board Friday, sharing the department's full financial picture.

Coyle noted that the Gophers broke even with their operating budget of $123.6 million for the 2022 fiscal year, but they still have to pay back a $21.5 million pandemic loan to the university. He also cited the long-term debt repayment plan to cover nearly $15 million of renovations for ice plants at 3M Arena at Mariucci and Ridder Arena.

Along with the pandemic loan, football scoreboard costs and ice plant loans, Coyle said between $2 million and $2.5 million will go toward the Gophers' new "Champions for Life" program, which can pay athletes up to $5,980 per year for academic related financial support.

With the Big Ten's historic multi-billion media rights deal announced last month, the Gophers will see a significant future financial boost from the conference, which is adding USC and UCLA in 2023-24.

Some U regents had questions about where money for that massive TV deal would be used by the Gophers. Coyle said his department wouldn't truly see major help from that until 2024-25.

"The landscape is changing daily," Coyle told the regents. "We need to have those resources available to help us remain competitive not only in the Big Ten but nationally."

While Gophers football has made progress under P.J. Fleck, Coyle's administration noted in a proposal letter to the board that the stadium has its original scoreboard installed before the facility's opening in 2009. The new one will be in place for next season.

"I understand the video boards look nice and they work, but we're being told by our internal people and our outside people that those video boards could go down at any second,'' Coyle said. "So we have to allocate money to put in new boards and enhance that experience for our fans.''

Daktronics of Brookings, S.D., will be paid $5,728,430 for the project, which will be funded by donations, sponsorships and short-term debt through the university.

The football scoreboard will be the second phase of a three-phase project, which started with the replacing of control room equipment. The third phase, with a timeline to be determined, would replace digital displays in other athletics facilities, including Williams Arena and 3M Arena at Mariucci.

During a Thursday committee meeting, Regent Darrin Rosha raised concerns over the specifics on funding, especially in light of the elimination of three men's sports and the loss of revenue brought on by COVID-19. "To me, it feels a little aggressive from a financial standpoint,'' he said.

The project was part of a group of consent items that required board approval because they are goods and services costing $1 million or more. The committee voted 8-0-1 to approve, with Rosha abstaining.