The world of sports froze in March. What is typically a month for the best basketball games of the year was overcome with the spread of coronavirus. For over four months sports fans were without anything to watch other than the occasional golf tournament or classic reruns. Today, football is managing its return while baseball, basketball, and hockey are coming to an end. However, the revenue lost in every corner of the sports world leaves a gaping hole in the industry.

COVID-19 brought the national and global economy to a screeching halt. From dairy farmers to car manufacturers, everyone has been affected by the coronavirus. Some industries have bounced back quickly through adaptation to their original business model. Yet, other industries have been at a standstill for months.

The NCAA is a billion dollar organization that manages collegiate sports nationwide and ensures the wellbeing of student-athletes. Coronavirus has been one of the greatest threats to student-athlete lifestyles, and has kept the NCAA searching for answers. To ensure the safety of its student-athletes and the fans, the NCAA and the “Power 5” conferences have drastically reduced the fan attendance and health regulations that take place in every sport. While this initiative is aimed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the revenue lost across the nation will be in the multi-billions.

Imagine how much money The University of Tennessee receives every game from regular admission tickets. With up to a 102,455 seating capacity and an average ticket price of $85.00 (which would likely be higher this season), the University would be losing close to $9 million every home game. This is not factoring in the concessions, box seat pricing, or merchandise stores that also raise gameday revenues.

With this lost revenue, athletic department budgets have been shredded. Thankfully, The University of Tennessee has done everything possible to retain employees, but this means that media budgets, facility updates, gameday experiences, and everything else that makes an athletic program stand out will be the first to go. Video production crews have already been reduced which means more room for error in broadcasts. Also, instead of broadcasting from efficient production trucks, the University will now be operating out of their in-house studios which is uncharted territory.

The average viewer at home may not notice all of these dramatic changes in typical gamedays, but the behind the scenes of colleges across the nation will be messy and underfunded. The good news is that most colleges still maintain a group of donors to get them through these uncertain times and keep safe what matters most in all of this- the people.