Alabama head football coach Kalen DeBoer’s hiring put Crimson Tide at deficit in more ways than one
Alabama didn’t make the 12-team 2024 College Football Playoff field. The greatest college football coach of all time, Nick Saban, all of the recruiting advantages he brought to Tuscaloosa, and the financial windfall he inspired, were also subtracted from the Crimson Tide’s equation after his retirement last January.
Kalen DeBoer’s hiring as Alabama’s head football coach to replace Saban has put the “Bama Standard” at a deficit, but it’s also put the athletic department at a financial one.
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“According to Alabama’s NCAA financial report, obtained via open records request by the Tuscaloosa News, the department operated in a deficit of about $28 million in the 2024 fiscal year,” the Tuscaloosa News’ Colin Gay wrote.
“Per an Alabama spokesperson, the net loss was ‘largely due to one-time expenses associated with the football coaching transition.’ Alabama football spent $30.5 million more from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, than in the previous 12 months.
“Alabama reported $234.8 million in revenue for the athletic department as a whole in the 2024 fiscal year and $262.8 million in expenses.”
Revenue went up, with a major assist from Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide’s Final Four run, but DeBoer’s hiring expenses, and his team’s lack of high-stakes playoff games, cost Alabama big in 2024.
Ipso facto, it’s no surprise AD Greg Byrne begged the Crimson Tide fanbase to fund the program during an impassioned December plea.
“We have been careful to during this transitional period to protect our position at the top of college athletics while being mindful to listen, engage and learn from our generous supporters, proud alumni and unrivaled fans to make sure that we protect our great traditions here at Alabama,” Byrne said, per ESPN. “But there’s a time for talk and a time for action. Now is a time for action.
“At Alabama, we’ve not measured ourselves against our competition. We are the standard, and that measurement is against the mirror and against a rich and proud history, but it’s impossible to ignore what is taking place in college athletics. Hungry fan bases are acting decisively to give their respective programs competitive advantages. We must respond. We are Alabama.”
As long as he’s in charge, it’ll be on DeBoer to raise money from donors to spend big on talent that can help earn the program more revenue by staying relevant from August to January.
He didn’t get off to a stellar start in year one. There’s time to fix it, but probably not much.
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