Carolina Athletics Update From Bubba Cunningham

Dear Tar Heel Family,

As we continue to welcome students, faculty, coaches and staff back to campus this week for the beginning of Fall classes, I want to take a moment to update you on the decisions that have been made about the 2020-21 college sports season – and the choices we will need to make as we plan for the future of Carolina Athletics.

Last week, the ACC announced that our league will move forward with a '10-plus-1' football season, as well as condensed seasons for Field Hockey, Men's and Women's Soccer, Volleyball and Cross Country. With so many unknowns still about COVID-19 and the impact on college campuses once students return, this wasn't an easy decision for our league ADs and Presidents; we spent months gathering information from health experts and state and national officials, and formulating plans to make the experience as safe as possible for our student-athletes, staff and communities.

In the end, I supported the decision because I want our student-athletes to have the opportunity to compete now, if they choose to do so and can do so safely – and we want to be able to provide as many opportunities as possible in the future.

As you know, we are proud to support one of the largest broad-based athletics programs in the country: 28 sports and more than 800 student-athletes each year. Only two of those teams, football and men's basketball, generate more money than they spend. Meanwhile, our department budget, slated to be about $110 million for 2020-21 before the pandemic hit, relies mainly on ticket sales, television revenues and private donations. Those are funds that we count on to fund our sports programs, pay our staff, and provide scholarships and important services to our student-athletes (including academic, medical and nutritional support).

The financial implications of this pandemic are serious. We face a $15 million loss in ticket revenue and a potential $30 million loss overall, even if we are allowed to fill Kenan Stadium at 30 percent capacity for football and the Smith Center at 50 percent capacity for men's basketball (capacities have not yet been set). If Fall sports seasons and the men's basketball season are shortened or cancelled, we could lose up to $52 million in revenue, including ticket sales, sponsorship and television revenue, conference distributions and concessions sales.

We already have cut our sport budgets by 10 percent for 2020-21, implemented a spending freeze, halted non-essential travel and left 16 full-time open positions in the department unfilled. Additional contingency plans, as I have shared with our staff, include difficult decisions such as salary and personnel reductions and limiting services. We also must evaluate future scholarship and sport program costs.

As we continue to assess options, I am working closely with Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Rams Club Executive Director John Montgomery to brainstorm ways to address these challenges – knowing that our University expects to feel a significant financial impact from Covid-19, and the majority of our Rams Club endowment is earmarked for scholarships.

Some of you have generously asked how you can help. Thank you. If you already have bought season tickets for football, you will soon receive an email with three choices: donate those funds to the Department of Athletics, roll the money to next year's purchase, or receive a refund. (You will also receive instructions on how to buy individual tickets for this season, if you choose.) We understand that economic times are difficult for many across our state and country, but should you be able to donate your season ticket payment, those funds will help continue to provide for our broad-based program. If you did not buy season tickets but would like to contribute, please contact The Rams Club.

As we continue forward, our staff remains dedicated to helping our student-athletes return safely to their classes and competition, and the health and well-being of all of our Carolina family is our top our priority. We also are committed to finding innovative ways to solve our financial challenges so that we can continue to create as many outstanding opportunities for Carolina student-athletes in the future as possible.

This pandemic continues to present challenges – personally, professionally and financially – for all of us. We will get through this, together.

We appreciate your continued support. Please stay safe.

Sincerely,

Bubba

UNC ATHLETICS PROJECTED EXPENSES 2020-21, PRE-PANDEMIC	UNC ATHLETICS PROJECTED REVENUES 2020-21, PRE-PANDEMIC
Sports Program Personnel $32.2 million	Multimedia (Sponsorship and Television) $32.4 million
Sports Program Operations $18.4 million	Ticket Sales $24.5 million
Scholarships* $17.9 million	Scholarships*** $17.9 million
Facilities $13.1 million	NCAA/ACC Distributions $10.4 million
Administrative Personnel $12.4 million	Athletic Fees**** $7.6 million
Administrative Operations $7.5 million	Contracts $4.9 million
University Services** $5.9 million	Facility Revenue $4.2 million
ACC Operating Expenses $2.6 million	Game Guarantees $2.0 million
Total $110 million	Concessions $1.5 million
	Endowment Use $1.3 million
	Misc. $3.3 million
	Total $110 million

*Athletics to University

**Includes ASPSA, Sports Medicine, Band

***Rams Club to Athletics

****Royalty and Trademark revenue goes to the University to fund merit and need-based scholarships

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