Alabama athletics operated in a deficit of about $12.1 million during the 2023 fiscal year, according to Alabama's NCAA Financial Report obtained via open records request by The Tuscaloosa News.

$14.3 million in gifts collected during the 2023 fiscal year were not expensed in 2022-23 and not included in the report, however, per UA. Otherwise, that would have put Alabama in a surplus.

The Crimson Tide reported $199.9 million in total operating revenues and $212 million in total operating expenses. The 2023 fiscal year ran from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.

During the 2022 fiscal year, Alabama reported $214.4 million in total operating revenues and $195.9 million in total operating expenses.

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Only one other time has UA operated in a deficit since 2005, and the year of that deficit was 2019, when it had a deficit of $21.2 million. Otherwise, Alabama has made more than it has spent every other year, reaching as high as a surplus of $33 million in 2014.

Here's a closer breakdown of the differences and things that stand out from the fiscal year 2023 financial report.

Where did Alabama make less money in 2023?

Six main categories of the operating revenues portion of the report saw notable drops from 2022: Ticket sales, direct institutional support, contributions, conference distributions (non media and non football bowl), athletics restricted endowment and investments income, and football bowl revenues.

• Ticket sales fell by about $2.37 million from the previous fiscal year.

• Direct institutional support, which is defined as funds provided by the institution to athletics for the operations of intercollegiate athletics, went from $14.96 million in 2022 to $6.21 million in 2023.

• Contributions, which are amounts received from anyone from individuals to organizations designated for athletics operations, fell by $3.37 million.

• Conference distributions (non media and non football bowl) fell from $4.2 million to $2.66 million.

• Athletes restricted endowment and investments income, which incudes only restricted investment and endowment income used for operations, went from $7.79 million to $4.71 million.

• Football bowl revenues went from $6.79 million to $2 million.

How Alabama spent more in 2023

The more notable expenses for Alabama included coaching salaries and benefits paid by the University, support staff/administrative compensation, team travel, direct overhead and administrative expenses and student-athlete meals (non-travel).

• Coaching salaries, benefits and bonuses paid by the University increased from $35.15 million to $37.32 million.

• Support staff/administrative compensation, benefits and bonuses paid by the University increased from $34.28 million to $38.46 million.

• Team travel increased from $7.08 million to $9.319 million.

• Direct overhead and administrative expenses, which includes administrative/overhead fees charged by the institution to athletics, facilities management, security, risk management, utilities, equipment repair, telephone, and more, increased by $6.29 million.

• Student-athlete meals (non-travel) saw a jump from $918,301 to $5.89 million.

Where Alabama made more money in 2023

Areas where the Crimson Tide saw a notable increase in revenue included guarantees, media rights, NCAA distributions, conference distributions of football bowl generated revenue; royalty, licensing, advertisement and sponsorships; sports camp revenues; and other operating revenue.

• Guarantees, which are defined as revenue from participating in away games, jumped from $84,000 to $1.1 million.

• Media rights increased from $53.61 million to $55.64 million.

• Conference distributions of football bowl generated revenue saw an increase of $1.12 million.

• Royalty, licensing, advertisement and sponsorships jumped by $1.05 million.

• Sports camp revenues increased by $966,695.

• Other operating revenue, which doesn't fit into one of the other categories, jumped from $5.13 million to $8.18 million.

Where Alabama spent less in 2023

Athletic student aid, other operating expenses and football bowl expenses were the three categories where Alabama saved money from the previous fiscal year.

• Athletic student aid decreased by $1.74 million.

• Other operating expenses, which includes non-team travel and team banquets and awards, decreased by $1.1 million.

• Football bowl expenses dropped by $3.62 million.

Alabama football revenue and expenses

Alabama football saw total operating revenues decrease from $130.87 million in fiscal year 2022 to $129.3 million in fiscal year 2023. Total operating expenses increased from $78.52 million in fiscal year 2022 to $83.33 million in fiscal year 2023.

Considering fiscal year ran from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023, that essentially means the numbers from the most recent report come from the 2022 football season.

That means football made Alabama $45.97 million in fiscal year 2023.

Ticket revenue seems to be one of the main sources for the decrease in revenue. Football saw ticket sales drop from $40.62 million in fiscal year 2022 (so the 2021 season) to $37.91 million in fiscal year 2023 (the 2022 season).

Alabama basketball revenue and expenses

Nate Oats' program brought in more revenue but it also saw an increase in expenses.

Revenue in fiscal year 2023 increased by $1.55 million. Meanwhile, expenses jumped from $10.9 million to $12.834 million.

The Crimson Tide still operated in a surplus of $7.76 million, but that was a drop from the $8.15 million surplus from fiscal year 2022. The biggest difference for the men's basketball team was in travel, with a jump from $654,934 to $1.85 million in fiscal year 2023.

USA TODAY's Steve Berkowitz contributed to this report.

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Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Financial report: How much Alabama athletics made, spent in FY2023