National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News Digest

August 17, 1998

TELEVISION

NCAA signs agreement for international TV rights

The NCAA and Trans World International (TWI) have agreed to terms on a five-year agreement that gives TWI exclusive international television rights for selected NCAA championship events in all markets outside the United States. TWI -- the largest independent producer, packager and distributor of sports programming worldwide -- is a division of International Management Group (IMG).

The following NCAA Division I championships will be represented exclusively by TWI internationally: men's and women's basketball, baseball, football (Division I-AA), men's and women's gymnastics, men's lacrosse, men's and women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, men's volleyball, and wrestling. TWI also has been awarded distribution rights for the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship.

Staff contact: Kimberly A. Dickson.

BASKETBALL

More than 170,000 applied for 1999 Final Four tickets

Approximately 172,000 entries for tickets were received for the 1999 Final Four, representing the second largest ticket drawing in Final Four history.

The 1999 Final Four will be conducted at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Approximately 11,200 tickets (28 percent) were allocated to the general public through the selection process. The remaining tickets are reserved for the four participating institutions (35 percent), the host institution/local organizing committee (10 percent), representatives of the NCAA membership (12 percent), members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (nine percent) and Division I member institutions (six percent).

Florida had the most entries with 22,449.

Tickets were allotted for the 1999 Women's Final Four through a similar distribution method. This is the second year that general public tickets to that event have been available through a random computerized drawing.

The Women's Final Four has sold out every year since 1993.

Approximately 6,500 tickets were allocated to the general public for the 1999 championship, which will be conducted at the San Jose Arena.

Applications were received from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and one foreign country. The state of California accounted for 47 percent of the entries submitted and for 46 percent of the entries selected.

Staff contact: Tricia Bork (women's) and Bernard M. Muir (men's).

BUDGET

NCAA expenses unchanged from previous fiscal year

Distributions to Division I members for the 1998-99 fiscal year will not increase over the preceding year.

The total distribution to Division I members for 1998-99 will be $140,650,000, an increase of only 0.2 percent over 1997-98. The only increase will be an additional $300,000 distributed through the academic-enhancement fund.

Overall NCAA expenses will increase by $4,667,000. That increase mostly reflects the additional expense of the recently renegotiated catastrophic-injury insurance plan, which jumped in cost from $3.6 million to $7.4 million. Overall operating revenue for 1998-99 will be $282,990,000, 80 percent of which will come from television rights fees. That contrasts with operating expenses of $265,690,000.

The revenue surplus of $17.3 million will be directed to the membership trust. Division I members will not receive any supplemental distribution of revenues over expenses. The membership trust -- along with $13 million available for operations from 1996 and 1997, will be held to meet certain strategic initiatives, possibly including legal expenses facing the Association. If the membership trust is not used, it would be returned to the Division I membership.

Staff contact: Keith E. Martin.