The University of Connecticut women’s basketball program is the first public women’s college basketball team to exceed $3 million in yearly ticket sales.
The Huskies announced $3.25 million in ticket sales for the 2023-24 season, based on the institution’s most recent NCAA financial statement. This positions UConn in front of over 75 public men’s teams.
The Huskies’ ticket sales surpassed those of Alabama’s men’s basketball team, which earned $2.8 million, along with LSU and Oregon, which made $2.4 million and $2.3 million.
UConn is unique as the sole public FBS institution that invests more funding in its basketball program than in its football team. The disparity in expenditure between the two sports increased during the 2023-24 fiscal year. The basketball budgets increased to $32.93 million, exceeding the $18.45 million allocated for football. In contrast, the ticket sales for the UConn football team were noted to be $2.2 million, which is less than those for both women’s and men’s basketball.
The men’s basketball team, recently celebrating a national championship victory with head coach Dan Hurley, recorded $8.3 million in ticket revenue, an uptick of $2 million compared to last year.
In total, the expenses for the UConn athletic department increased to $101 million, compared to $90.7 million the year before. According to Sportico’s college finance database, the typical public FBS institution experienced an increase in women’s basketball ticket sales, rising from $174,389 in 2017-18 to $244,627 in 2022-23. During that same timeframe, UConn’s ticket revenue increased from $2.41 million to $3.25 million.
Furthermore, UConn boasts a significant online presence and interaction with fans. The team boasts around 482,000 Instagram followers, surpassing any other program by 180,000, and has gained 20,000 followers just this season.
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