• Apply
  • Archives
  • NewsWatch
  • Classifieds
  • Multimedia
    • Ole Miss in Puerto Rico
    • Campus Protests
    • The Queen of Marks
    • Meet Aubrey Armstrong, a Real Champion and Local Celebrity
    • Mississippi voters passed Initiative 65. What’s next?
    • One year later: COVID-19 at Ole Miss
    • “It’s Just Not Fair”: One Woman’s Fight For Access to Community Water
    • A way with words
  • Subscribe to our newsletter
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
  • News
    • All
    • Associated Student Body
    Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

    Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

    University cuts support for Oxford Pride

    University cuts support for Oxford Pride

    ASB expands legislative council, elects Wesley Templet president pro tempore

    ASB expands legislative council, elects Wesley Templet president pro tempore

    What goes into making Commencement happen for 5,500 graduates?

    What goes into making Commencement happen for 5,500 graduates?

    Stamps Impact Prize awarded to 15 students

    Stamps Impact Prize awarded to 15 students

    MPower sets on a new path amid low attendance

    MPower sets on a new path amid low attendance

  • Sports
    • All
    • Game Recap
    House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

    House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

    Ole Miss Softball takes series against Missouri

    Ole Miss Softball advances to World Series for first time in program history

    Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

    Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

    Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

    Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

    Ole Miss Softball dominates Rocket City Softball Showcase

    Ole Miss Softball battles through SEC Tournament

    Ole Miss softball falls to No. 1 Tennessee

    Ole Miss softball falls to No. 1 Tennessee

  • Arts & Culture
    Seniors cement their campus legacy with a brick

    Seniors cement their campus legacy with a brick

    Student photographers capture picture-perfect graduation moments

    Student photographers capture picture-perfect graduation moments

    Julien Baker & TORRES ‘send a prayer’ to Oxford

    Julien Baker & TORRES ‘send a prayer’ to Oxford

    Double Decker 28 rocks the Square

    Double Decker 28 rocks the Square

    Grove trees cared for by the Department of Landscaping Services. Photo courtesy: Jillian Russell

    An ode to campus trees and those who care for them

    ‘Sinners’ falls flat on first watch

    ‘Sinners’ falls flat on first watch

  • Opinion
    • All
    • Ask a Philosopher
    • Diary of a Black Girl
    • From The Editorial Board
    • Lavender Letters
    • Letters to the editor
    lavender letters graphic, a purple envelope with a purple letter, "lavender letters" is written in bold black font on the letter

    Lavender Letters: senior sign-off

    Diary of a Black Girl: senior sign-off

    Diary of a Black Girl: senior sign-off

    Opinion: How to avoid summertime sadness

    Opinion: How to avoid summertime sadness

    Ask a Philosopher: How do I quell my public speaking fears?

    Ask a Philosopher: Why do other people not understand me?

    A farewell from Opinion Editor Justice Rose

    A farewell from Opinion Editor Justice Rose

    Why evangelical Christians need to feel the heat on climate change

    Why evangelical Christians need to feel the heat on climate change

  • Special Projects
    • All
    • It's a Whole New Ball Game
    • Jordan Center Symposium
    • Rising Tides & Temperatures

    Jordan Center debuts with symposium addressing impact of social media, AI on democracy

    Richard Lui: News media must not make same mistakes with AI that it did with social media

    Elise Jordan: Artificial Intelligence will completely transform world

    Elise Jordan: Artificial Intelligence will completely transform world

    danah boyd: Journalism connects people in a healthy social fabric

    danah boyd: Journalism connects people in a healthy social fabric

    Meetali Jain holds Big Tech accountable

    Meetali Jain holds Big Tech accountable

    Dana Milbank asks, ‘Can free press survive the Trump era?’

    Dana Milbank asks, ‘Can free press survive the Trump era?’

  • Print / e-Editions
  • About Us
    • Applications
    • Advertise
      • Advertise with Us
      • Classifieds
    • Contact
    • Editorial Board
    • Policies
    • Daily Mississippian Staff 2025-26
  • News
    • All
    • Associated Student Body
    Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

    Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

    University cuts support for Oxford Pride

    University cuts support for Oxford Pride

    ASB expands legislative council, elects Wesley Templet president pro tempore

    ASB expands legislative council, elects Wesley Templet president pro tempore

    What goes into making Commencement happen for 5,500 graduates?

    What goes into making Commencement happen for 5,500 graduates?

    Stamps Impact Prize awarded to 15 students

    Stamps Impact Prize awarded to 15 students

    MPower sets on a new path amid low attendance

    MPower sets on a new path amid low attendance

  • Sports
    • All
    • Game Recap
    House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

    House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

    Ole Miss Softball takes series against Missouri

    Ole Miss Softball advances to World Series for first time in program history

    Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

    Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

    Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

    Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

    Ole Miss Softball dominates Rocket City Softball Showcase

    Ole Miss Softball battles through SEC Tournament

    Ole Miss softball falls to No. 1 Tennessee

    Ole Miss softball falls to No. 1 Tennessee

  • Arts & Culture
    Seniors cement their campus legacy with a brick

    Seniors cement their campus legacy with a brick

    Student photographers capture picture-perfect graduation moments

    Student photographers capture picture-perfect graduation moments

    Julien Baker & TORRES ‘send a prayer’ to Oxford

    Julien Baker & TORRES ‘send a prayer’ to Oxford

    Double Decker 28 rocks the Square

    Double Decker 28 rocks the Square

    Grove trees cared for by the Department of Landscaping Services. Photo courtesy: Jillian Russell

    An ode to campus trees and those who care for them

    ‘Sinners’ falls flat on first watch

    ‘Sinners’ falls flat on first watch

  • Opinion
    • All
    • Ask a Philosopher
    • Diary of a Black Girl
    • From The Editorial Board
    • Lavender Letters
    • Letters to the editor
    lavender letters graphic, a purple envelope with a purple letter, "lavender letters" is written in bold black font on the letter

    Lavender Letters: senior sign-off

    Diary of a Black Girl: senior sign-off

    Diary of a Black Girl: senior sign-off

    Opinion: How to avoid summertime sadness

    Opinion: How to avoid summertime sadness

    Ask a Philosopher: How do I quell my public speaking fears?

    Ask a Philosopher: Why do other people not understand me?

    A farewell from Opinion Editor Justice Rose

    A farewell from Opinion Editor Justice Rose

    Why evangelical Christians need to feel the heat on climate change

    Why evangelical Christians need to feel the heat on climate change

  • Special Projects
    • All
    • It's a Whole New Ball Game
    • Jordan Center Symposium
    • Rising Tides & Temperatures

    Jordan Center debuts with symposium addressing impact of social media, AI on democracy

    Richard Lui: News media must not make same mistakes with AI that it did with social media

    Elise Jordan: Artificial Intelligence will completely transform world

    Elise Jordan: Artificial Intelligence will completely transform world

    danah boyd: Journalism connects people in a healthy social fabric

    danah boyd: Journalism connects people in a healthy social fabric

    Meetali Jain holds Big Tech accountable

    Meetali Jain holds Big Tech accountable

    Dana Milbank asks, ‘Can free press survive the Trump era?’

    Dana Milbank asks, ‘Can free press survive the Trump era?’

  • Print / e-Editions
  • About Us
    • Applications
    • Advertise
      • Advertise with Us
      • Classifieds
    • Contact
    • Editorial Board
    • Policies
    • Daily Mississippian Staff 2025-26
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
No Result
View All Result

Ole Miss Athletics’ reserve fund took a $16 million hit during bowl ban

Sarah HendersonbySarah Henderson
February 14, 2019
Reading Time: 3 mins read

Ole Miss Athletics has taken a financial blow over the past couple of years, according to Director of Athletics Ross Bjork.

The Athletic Department comes No. 24 nationally in revenue and has an annual budget of $117 million, which has almost doubled in the past five years. Despite the increases, there’s one area that Ole Miss has taken a loss in.

Ross Bjork explains his grievances with the NCAA and COI rulings in 2017. File photo by Billy Schuerman

The “reserve fund,” as Bjork calls it, is down from where it was a few years ago.

“Through that success in our financial picture, we’ve been able to build that ‘reserve fund’ up to about $27 million,” Bjork said on the Oxford Exxon podcast Monday afternoon. “With the bowl ban the last two years, that’s about a $16 million hit. We’ve had some other revenue losses with ticket sales, sponsorships and other donations.”

The two-year bowl ban that registered a $16 million hit to the original $27 million fund certainly hurts, but Bjork hopes that money will be back soon now that the university no longer has a postseason ban to worry about.

“Weathering that storm, we’ve got to pull that money out of our reserves,” Bjork said. “So, at the end of this fiscal year, we’ll be at around $8 million in reserves.”

That loss can be attributed to many things — the two-year bowl ban, donation shortages, loss of sponsorships. However, there’s one thing Ole Miss is really hurting for: ticket sales.

As Bjork said, ticket sales are down as of last year, and that directly impacts the department’s pockets.

“We need to build that back up through fundraising and ticket sales,” Bjork said. “Last year we were at about 47,000 season tickets in football. We need to get that back in the (50,000) range.”

That’s in stark contrast with the 54,000 season tickets sold in 2017. Those numbers mean that more than 7,000 people canceled their Ole Miss football season tickets in just one calendar year, which is an alarming rate for the athletic department if it continues.

“(Improving ticket sales) helps continue the financial health,” Bjork said. “I would say we’ve had our challenges, but we have a good plan. We need to sell the program. Obviously, we know winning helps.”

Winning helps, but Ole Miss hasn’t done a lot of that in the past three seasons, which is likely why ticket sales are down so drastically.

Although Bjork sounded concerned about season ticket sales, he mentioned another way to generate revenue for the “reserve fund” that appears to be more lucrative and productive for the university in the long run.

“It comes down to fundraising,” Bjork said. “There’s no limit on fundraising. We have a ton of proposals out there now that could, in many ways, be transformational for our program.”

It’s unclear what those proposals are, but Bjork seemed confident in their potential.

Although Ole Miss Athletics’ total budget and revenue is up over the past five years, losing nearly $20 million of the athletic department’s “reserve fund,” along with declining season ticket sales doesn’t reflect well on the university, or Bjork.

“We have not cut sports budgets. We have not cut back,” Bjork said. “We wanted to make sure we operate at a high-SEC level.”

In Case You Missed It

House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

3 weeks ago
Ole Miss Softball takes series against Missouri

Ole Miss Softball advances to World Series for first time in program history

4 weeks ago
Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

1 month ago
Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

1 month ago
Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

1 month ago
Ole Miss Softball dominates Rocket City Softball Showcase

Ole Miss Softball battles through SEC Tournament

1 month ago

Ole Miss Athletics’ reserve fund took a $16 million hit during bowl ban

Sarah HendersonbySarah Henderson
February 14, 2019
Reading Time: 3 mins read

Ole Miss Athletics has taken a financial blow over the past couple of years, according to Director of Athletics Ross Bjork.

The Athletic Department comes No. 24 nationally in revenue and has an annual budget of $117 million, which has almost doubled in the past five years. Despite the increases, there’s one area that Ole Miss has taken a loss in.

Ross Bjork explains his grievances with the NCAA and COI rulings in 2017. File photo by Billy Schuerman

The “reserve fund,” as Bjork calls it, is down from where it was a few years ago.

“Through that success in our financial picture, we’ve been able to build that ‘reserve fund’ up to about $27 million,” Bjork said on the Oxford Exxon podcast Monday afternoon. “With the bowl ban the last two years, that’s about a $16 million hit. We’ve had some other revenue losses with ticket sales, sponsorships and other donations.”

The two-year bowl ban that registered a $16 million hit to the original $27 million fund certainly hurts, but Bjork hopes that money will be back soon now that the university no longer has a postseason ban to worry about.

“Weathering that storm, we’ve got to pull that money out of our reserves,” Bjork said. “So, at the end of this fiscal year, we’ll be at around $8 million in reserves.”

That loss can be attributed to many things — the two-year bowl ban, donation shortages, loss of sponsorships. However, there’s one thing Ole Miss is really hurting for: ticket sales.

As Bjork said, ticket sales are down as of last year, and that directly impacts the department’s pockets.

“We need to build that back up through fundraising and ticket sales,” Bjork said. “Last year we were at about 47,000 season tickets in football. We need to get that back in the (50,000) range.”

That’s in stark contrast with the 54,000 season tickets sold in 2017. Those numbers mean that more than 7,000 people canceled their Ole Miss football season tickets in just one calendar year, which is an alarming rate for the athletic department if it continues.

“(Improving ticket sales) helps continue the financial health,” Bjork said. “I would say we’ve had our challenges, but we have a good plan. We need to sell the program. Obviously, we know winning helps.”

Winning helps, but Ole Miss hasn’t done a lot of that in the past three seasons, which is likely why ticket sales are down so drastically.

Although Bjork sounded concerned about season ticket sales, he mentioned another way to generate revenue for the “reserve fund” that appears to be more lucrative and productive for the university in the long run.

“It comes down to fundraising,” Bjork said. “There’s no limit on fundraising. We have a ton of proposals out there now that could, in many ways, be transformational for our program.”

It’s unclear what those proposals are, but Bjork seemed confident in their potential.

Although Ole Miss Athletics’ total budget and revenue is up over the past five years, losing nearly $20 million of the athletic department’s “reserve fund,” along with declining season ticket sales doesn’t reflect well on the university, or Bjork.

“We have not cut sports budgets. We have not cut back,” Bjork said. “We wanted to make sure we operate at a high-SEC level.”

In Case You Missed It

House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

3 weeks ago
Ole Miss Softball takes series against Missouri

Ole Miss Softball advances to World Series for first time in program history

4 weeks ago
Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

1 month ago
Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

1 month ago
Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

1 month ago
Ole Miss Softball dominates Rocket City Softball Showcase

Ole Miss Softball battles through SEC Tournament

1 month ago

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
Mississippi Press Association
Sign up for our weekly newsletter!
  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Special Projects
  • Print / e-Editions
  • About Us
    • Applications
    • Advertise
      • Advertise with Us
      • Classifieds
    • Contact
    • Editorial Board
    • Policies
    • Daily Mississippian Staff 2025-26

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

Republish this article

Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Unless otherwise noted, you can republish most of The Daily Mississippian’s stories for free under a Creative Commons license.

For digital publications:
Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the HTML code and paste it into your Content Management System (CMS).
Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
Any website our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @thedailymississippian on Facebook and @thedm_news on X (formerly Twitter).

For print publications:
You have to credit The Daily Mississippian. We prefer “Author Name, The Daily Mississippian” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by The Daily Mississippian” and include our website, thedmonline.com.
You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor Michael Guidry for more information). To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.
You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection.
Any website our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
If you have any other questions, contact the Student Media Center at Ole Miss.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Special Projects
  • Print / e-Editions
  • About Us
    • Applications
    • Advertise
      • Advertise with Us
      • Classifieds
    • Contact
    • Editorial Board
    • Policies
    • Daily Mississippian Staff 2025-26

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

-
00:00
00:00

Queue

Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00