Mizzou could miss out on millions due to postseason ban
The University of Missouri could miss out on millions of dollars due to a postseason football ban.
The Southeastern Conference prohibits any school banned from postseason play from collecting money member schools earn from bowl appearances, according to conference rules. Instead, half of a school’s usual share would be split among the 13 other SEC schools. The conference holds onto the other half for five years, and gives the banned school its cut if it doesn’t commit a major violation in that time.
SEC spokesman Herb Vincent said the conference does not release how much of the $604 million it collected during the 2017-18 school year came from football. A Forbes breakdown of payouts from the six major bowl games last year shows that the SEC took in $70 million.
The NCAA banned Mizzou football, baseball and softball from postseason play for one year after an investigation into academic fraud. A tutor completed coursework for 12 student-athletes in those three sports from 2015 to 2016.
University leaders admitted to the fraud, but said they plan to appeal the punishment.
Nick Joos, spokesman for Mizzou Athletics, said the SEC disbursement is one of the largest sources of money for the department.
“It’s an important piece of our self-sustaining department budget,” Joos said.
The SEC collects the payouts programs receive for postseason play, including football bowl games and men’s basketball tournament participation. That money, along with broadcast contract rights, is pooled together at the conference level, and then split 14 ways to each school.
The conference announced on Friday that SEC schools received $43.1 million each for the 2017-18 school year. That period saw two programs, Alabama and Georgia, compete in the College Football Playoff, which provides a greater payout than other bowl games.
Neither baseball nor softball programs earn any additional revenue for sharing by making the College World Series.
The postseason bans, if appealed, will be placed on hold while the process plays out, according to NCAA rules. MU has until Feb. 15 to file a notice of appeal to the NCAA.
