Alabama AD Greg Byrne sounds off on misperception about collegiate finances

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne works in one of the largest departments in the NCAA, but that does not mean he sits on a pot of gold. Amid the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and NIL on Olympic, non-revenue sports, he faces the same questions about balancing the books from a financial standpoint.

While speaking at the SEC spring meeting in Destin, Florida on Wednesday, Greg Byrne informed reporters that despite being the gold standard, there are no gold bars laying around to pay for major expenses outside of basketball and football.

“As much as people think there is an infinite supply of money, I haven’t found that,” said Byrne, via the Tuscaloosa News’ Nick Kelly. “All of those gold bars hiding under Coleman Coliseum, when I do find them, I’ll let you know.”

The Olympic sports across the country have been put in danger by tight finances across the country. Even Stanford, which has become known for its wide variety of varsity sports, has discussed a number of cuts to help balance the finances. Despite all this, Byrne remains committed to finding a way to continue supporting as many programs as possible.

“We at (Alabama) are very committed to having broad-based programs,” said Byrne. “But we all have to manage our resources within our university environment.”

Alabama building new basketball arena

The Alabama board of trustees approved a proposal to build a new basketball and gymnastics arena on Friday. Greg Byrne proposed a new arena and confirmed Crimson Tide officials visited five different arenas — Ole Miss’ SBJ Pavilion, Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena, Illinois‘ State Farm Center, James Madison’s Atlantic Union Bank Center and DePaul’s Wintrust Arena — to get an idea of what they want to do with the new facility.

The new arena will likely cost $183 million and paid for by gifts, cash from the Crimson Standard and UA bonds the athletic department would re-pay, according to AL.com’s Mike Rodak.

“We went and studied some other arenas,” Byrne also said, via the Tuscaloosa News’ Nick Kelly. “We would recommend potentially constructing a new arena.”

Byrne also said the student section would wrap around three-quarters of the court. In addition, the 2,200 students in attendance would be closer to the court than they are now at Coleman. Officials are considering multiple sites for the new arena, including a parking lot next to Coleman Coliseum and a band practice field on University Boulevard, among others, according to AL.com’s Michael Casagrande.

Coleman Coliseum opened in 1968 and holds 15,383 fans. It was renovated in 2005, but Byrne is pushing for a new arena instead of doing that again 17 years later. The proposed arena will decrease capacity but hopes to maximize the balance between supply and demand to create an atmosphere similar to their rivals at Auburn.