by Malcolm Butler
Louisiana Tech University leadership is thinking outside the box when it comes to creating additional revenue generating streams for the Athletics Department.
In a day and age where many universities across the country are cutting NCAA sanctioned programs in cost-saving measures, Tech President Jim Henderson and Director of Athletics/VP Ryan Ivey are in serious talks about potentially adding sport sponsorships in the near future.
According to Ivey, Louisiana Tech could potentially add multiple women’s sports as part of a strategy aimed at increasing enrollment and generating new revenue streams for the institution.
Ivey said Tech officials are currently studying the financial viability of adding sports such as stunt, flag football, fencing and women’s triathlon, with the possibility of an announcement coming later this summer.
Tech currently sponsors 16 programs (the NCAA minimum for FBS institutions), including nine female (basketball, softball, tennis, bowling, soccer, volleyball, cross country, indoor TF, outdoor TF) and seven male (football, basketball, baseball, golf, cross country, indoor TF, outdoor TF).
Henderson said in the current state of education and environment surrounding college athletics, the University has to view any potential moves from a business-perspective.
“It’s about approaching athletics with a business mindset,” Henderson said. “It’s not a business, right? If it was, no one would want to get into it as a money-making opportunity. But you can do some very smart things that make it fiscally sustainable.”
Henderson said rather than viewing athletics strictly through ticket sales and traditional sport-generated revenue, the university is examining athletics as part of its overall enrollment management strategy.
“There are sports that actually generate more revenue for the institution because it brings in students,” Henderson said. “The students are not on full scholarships, so it brings good students that are focused on scholarly work, that are good athletes, that are going to be contributing members of a student body.”
Ivey said that the additional sports would, for the most part, not be scholarship-based, thus bringing new tuition-paying students to campus. The addition of the four proposed sports could eventually generate approximately $1.2 million annually in net revenue back to the institution, although he stressed the numbers are still being studied.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to become solvent and create opportunities for us to be more sound financially,” Ivey said. “And if we can create dedicated revenue in non-traditional ways, then the thought and the idea is that hopefully that dedicated revenue then could go back to help us with our current financial position.”
Tech is reportedly studying a phased rollout of the sports, with stunt and women’s flag football viewed as the initial possibilities because of their projected return on investment and relatively manageable startup costs. Fencing and women’s triathlon are also under consideration for later phases.
Early projections suggest stunt could generate the highest net revenue of just over $400,000 per year followed by fencing ($375,000), flag football ($350,000) and triathlon ($175,000).
Ivey said several factors are being considered, including roster size, facility needs, startup costs and Title IX implications.
Women’s flag football has become one of the fastest-growing emerging sports in the country. Backed heavily by the NFL, the sport will also debut in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“It’s a global sport that’s growing because the NFL has put some effort behind it,” Ivey said. “It is growing tremendously in this state with approximately 60 high schools sponsoring the sport currently, and many more to come soon.”
Currently, over 240 colleges and universities sponsor women’s flag football programs (both varsity and club levels). Those numbers are expected to grow significantly in the next few years.
Ivey said Tech is not alone in using athletics to drive enrollment, pointing to Division III institutions that have long used non-scholarship athletics programs to increase student populations.
While Tech is considering expansion, both Henderson and Ivey emphasized the university cannot afford to add programs that negatively impact existing teams or the institution as a whole.
“That doesn’t mean you become reckless,” Henderson said. “It doesn’t mean that you bankrupt the institution in pursuit of something. It means that you’re going to compete at the highest level with your peers and utilize athletics as a way to advance the mission of the institution.”
“We cannot add sports to take away from our current sports,” Ivey said. “It has to be additive to what we’re doing.”
Facility limitations remain one of the biggest hurdles facing the project.
“That’s probably the biggest challenge of adding sports,” Ivey said. “Being able to make sure we have the appropriate facilities for them to practice and compete and do what they need to be able to do.”
Ivey said Tech would likely offer limited scholarships initially if the sports are approved, with the emphasis instead being placed on enrollment growth and long-term institutional revenue.
He also acknowledged that more traditional additions such as men’s soccer or women’s golf are currently viewed as less realistic options.
“There are more facility challenges associated with those sports,” Ivey said. “There are infrastructure and financial challenges associated with those sports.”
Henderson said the overall goal is to use athletics to strengthen the university academically and financially while continuing to expand opportunities for prospective students.
“Athletics is a way for us to reach potential students that can benefit from a Louisiana Tech education,” Henderson said.
