Good Afternoon Big Orange Nation!

We trust you and your family enjoyed a safe Fourth of July holiday celebrating the birth of the greatest country in the world 241 years ago. Of course, one of the most uniquely American traditions is college football—can you believe that we are just 59 days from our season-opener on Monday, Sept. 4 in Atlanta’s brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium vs. Georgia Tech? And by my count, there are only eight more “empty” Saturdays between today and our home-opener in Neyland Stadium on Sept. 9. Starting off our season with three games in 13 days—including two contests away from home as we then head to the Swamp on Sept. 16—is as daunting an opening stretch as any in the country, and I am extremely impressed with the leadership and focus of Coach Butch Jones, his staff and our team as they prepare for the season.

An annual milestone in the countdown to kickoff happens on Monday when Coach Jones, along with seniors Emmanuel Moseley, Jashon Robertson and Kendal Vickers travel to Birmingham for SEC Media Days. The progress that has been made rebuilding the Tennessee football program under Coach Jones’ leadership is amazing. In the short time I have been here (99 days today), it has been awesome to observe the chemistry amongst his staff and see how much our coaches truly care about our student-athletes and the traditions of the Big Orange. Our tremendous momentum in recruiting is a testament to Coach Jones’ leadership, organization, attention to detail and the fact that veteran college football observers know the future is extremely bright for the Tennessee football program!

IN THE BLACK FOR 2017 AS FISCAL YEAR 2018 BUDGET UNVEILED

Our financial staff has been especially busy these last few weeks as the fiscal year 2017 ended June 30. I am pleased that UTAD will report another year in the “black” when we close out the books and report results for FY16-17. In the meantime, we are now off and running as of July 1 with fiscal year 2018. Two hallmarks of Tennessee Athletics will be fiscal responsibility and transparency, and thus today I am pleased to provide this overview of our athletic budget for July 1, 2017- June 30, 2018.

Our UTAD operating budget for FY17-18 is $133.7 million. Here are a few specific budget details as we look to further enhance the experience for 500+ female and male student-athletes on 20 sports teams, provide the resources to compete for and win championships while also working toward providing the best fan experience in the Southeastern Conference and the country.

When you break down the numbers, it gives you a true appreciation of the fact that everyone’s support matters. Every single fan makes a difference, as 26 percent of our annual revenue comes directly from ticket sales, including more than 21 percent (close to $29 million) coming from the sale of Tennessee football tickets alone. Gifts made by members of the Tennessee Fund—totaling more than $28.3 million—account for a significant 21 percent of our annual revenue.

So, between ticket sales and personal gifts to the Tennessee Fund, our individual fans collectively provide nearly half of our total annual revenue. We recognize and appreciate the fact that fans who bring their families to Knoxville from Clarksville or Sweetwater or Jackson or Marietta, Ga., could decide at any time to spend that time and money elsewhere. The best fans in the world deserve to enjoy a world-class experience when they travel to Rocky Top for a game—we have work to do in this area, especially for our fans who currently sit in the south and east areas of Neyland Stadium.

Obviously, we are fortunate to be a charter member of the best athletics conference in the country, and a big chunk of our annual revenue comes from SEC and NCAA distributions which total about $40 million (close to 30 percent of our annual revenue). Additionally, our loyal Vol Network corporate partners and sponsors provide an important $11.6 million in revenue (8.7 percent). Thanks for remembering this any time you and your family have an opportunity to patronize those partners!

Tennessee Athletics remains one of only 25 or so programs nationally that operate in the black without direct university funding, tuition or tax dollars.

On the expenses side, nearly 50 percent of our budget goes directly into our sports program operating/travel/recruiting ($44.6 million), scholarships ($14.4 million) and student-athlete support services such as sports medicine, strength training and academic services ($7.4 million).

About 10 percent of the budget goes into regular facility maintenance and utility payments—we’ve previously talked about our painting project at Neyland, and as you can imagine, large stadiums come with big light and power bills!

You will also note that we are intentionally carving out money from annual operating revenues to save for a strategic Neyland Stadium renovation fund (a $3 million line item this year). This stands as proof of our determination to improve fan experience through basic enhancements like entry points in and out of the stadium, safety and security, restrooms and concessions, etc. Certainly, this historic project will require an exponentially larger total, but this allocation is an important component of how we ensure that future generations of Tennessee fans will be able to continue to come to love and enjoy the unique Neyland Stadium experience.

You can view a breakdown of our complete budget for FY17-18 here. Let me know of your comments and questions, which I’ll be glad to address in future letters.

WELCOME TO ROCKY TOP, JANEEN LALIK

Yesterday we announced the addition of Janeen Lalik as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Initiatives. In addition to being a key member of our senior leadership team, she’ll work daily with UTAD’s Fan Experience department (formerly known as athletic marketing & promotions), ticketing, VFL Films, corporate partnerships, licensing, and serve as the UTAD liaison to IMG College/Vol Network.

Janeen currently serves as senior vice president of College Athletics for Ticketmaster. Click here to read more about her deep background in college athletics, which includes 18 years leading partner growth at IMG College/ISP Sports.

VOLEADERS VISITING VIETNAM

As I write this, Senior Associate AD/Assistant Provost Dr. Joe Scogin is leading the 2017 class of our VOLeaders Academy on a service trip to Vietnam. Our VOLeaders Academy is a dynamic partnership between Tennessee Athletics and the UT Center for Leadership and Service and the Center for Sport, Peace and Society.

Each annual class of VOLeaders spends a full academic year learning how to positively impact their team, campus and communities, culminating with an international service trip. Last summer, our VOLeaders traveled to Rio. Now this year, they’re serving in Vietnam. These incredible opportunities serve as further examples of the extraordinary student-athlete experience we can provide at UT.

BIG ORANGE CARAVAN ROLLING TOWARD NASHVILLE, TRI-CITIES

This summer’s edition of the resurgent Big Orange Caravan concludes with events in Nashville and the Tri-Cities on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The Nashville event, which coincides with the 51st annual UT All-Sports Picnic, is completely sold out! Tuesday’s event at the Kingsport Farmers Market can accommodate a much larger group, so if the Tri-Cities is an easy drive for you and your family, I’d like to personally invite you to join me, Bob Kesling, Coach Jones, women’s tennis coach Alison Ojeda and director of track & field Beth Alford-Sullivan for an evening of fun and festivities. As I’m sure the nearly 2,000 UT fans who attended the Chattanooga and Memphis events would attest, this year’s new-look caravan has been a blast! Click here for complete event details.

Enjoy the balance of your weekend, and Go Vols!