Missouri State has promised its move to Conference USA will be “budget-neutral” as expenses are sure to increase when the Bears move to a league that stretches from Delaware to Miami to New Mexico.
The Bears are banking on several revenue streams that haven’t been available to them in the past as they enter a new level of college football.
Here are some ways the state of Missouri will bring in more money as it aims to be “budget neutral.”
Conference USA Television and Streaming Agreement
Being a full-time member of an FBS conference carries hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in television rights and streaming media deals that weren’t as much as the Bears are leaving behind. Media rights agreements have been the biggest driving force behind conference realignment at the highest levels and play a major role in why MSU made the decision.
In November 2022, CUSA announced a five-year media rights agreement with CBS Sports Network and ESPN with a network option for a sixth year, according to a Sports Business Journal report. The deal doubled the league’s previous media rights deal, with about $800,000 for each school per year.
By comparison, for fiscal year 2023, Louisiana Tech reported $618,202 in media rights revenue, while the state of Missouri reported $50,000.
More: How Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard is approaching Conference USA, FBS jump
Bowl game conference distributions
Belonging to an FCS conference meant that no money came from bowl games. However, participating in an FBS conference will generate profits every year regardless of whether the Bears qualify or not.
Four Conference USA teams qualified for bowl games last season, including Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl, which paid the league $4 million.
Louisiana Tech, which hasn’t made a bowl game since 2020, reported $975,781 in conference distributions for fiscal 2023. It also listed just over $3 million in conference distributions, not including media rights or revenue generated by the bowl, while the Valley paid MSU $915,411 for the same year.
More: Q&A with Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod: Why did CUSA add Missouri State?
The money received from purchasing games will increase
The money that Missouri State receives from playing teams like Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Mizzou, and Kansas, among others, in recent years will increase dramatically by being an FBS program and making it a more attractive team for schools to schedule .
For example, Missouri State is receiving $325,000 in the 2024 season to travel to Ball State. The following week, Ball State will receive US$1.5 million to play in Miami (Florida).
Future contracts to buy Missouri State games include a $500,000 payout from Arkansas for 2025, $450,000 from Kansas State in 2026 and $550,000 to play Mizzou in 2029. Those numbers are expected to increase in future contracts.
MAC member Ball State and Conference USA member Middle Tennessee have scheduled a home-and-home matchup that won’t cost anything, leading to the possibility of other Group of 5 programs coming to Springfield someday instead of Missouri State being paid to go somewhere else.
Missouri State will likely have to pay others, including FCS programs, to come to Springfield someday, but it believes the revenue it will collect from purchasing games will eventually turn into profit at the time of scheduling.
More: Missouri State says it’s ‘time to think big and be bold’ with jump to Conference USA
Missouri State hopes this will translate into increased attendance and donations
The Missouri State administration hopes that with its investment in the athletics program, others will follow.
It’s not something Missouri State is necessarily budgeting for, as athletics director Kyle Moats said he will continue to be conservative when projecting attendance and donations the school receives. MSU knows the $5 million investment Tom Strong made to help it reach Conference USA won’t be matched anytime soon, but it hopes others will help the different programs move forward.
The state of Missouri made more than $3.5 million in contributions in fiscal year 2023. That’s more than Western Kentucky ($3.2 million), Middle Tennessee ($1.4 million) and Florida International ($2.5 million) and less than Louisiana Tech ($5.5 million) in the same year.
More: Missouri State to Conference USA: Here’s what it means when the Bears move to the FBS
Will Missouri State’s institutional support change?
In an interview with the News-Leader, Moats said he doesn’t believe the subsidy Missouri State places on athletics will change much after its move to Conference USA. That number has hovered around $15 to $18 million over the past six years, with the COVID-19-impacted 2020 season being an exception.
“I don’t think it’s going to change much,” Moats said. “It can’t because the university doesn’t have it. I don’t think that’s the case. If they want to give us more money, we’ll certainly accept it. It’s not necessarily my decision, but I would hope it stays flat.”
This article originally appeared in the Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State to Conference USA: New revenue streams as FBS moves
