Lubbock Will Lose $161M and 2.2K Jobs When UT and OU Leave, Study Says
The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce took to social media on Friday, July 30th to tell how the Perryman Group had conducted a study on the economic impact of losing major Lubbock college athletics.
The University of Texas and University of Oklahoma had formally accepted invitations to the SEC the same day as the Lubbock Chamber's post, so in 2025, OU and UT will be leaving the Big 12. The remaining Big 12 schools might see noteworthy losses afterwards.
In the Perryman Group's study, they assessed that potentially losing major college athletics in Lubbock would result in an economic impact of $117 to $161 million, 1,600 to 2,200 lost jobs, and $6 to $8.6 million in lost local tax revenue.
KAMC News reports that the total impact, which includes direct and indirect losses combined, is even higher. It's said that the actual impact could range from $200 million to $296 million depending on which scenario pays out. The 2 scenarios they described were as follows:
- The Big 12 stays close to the 8 teams that will remain after OU and UT leave for the SEC
- The Big 12 is not maintained and the other schools must find other opportunities
They Perryman Group's report specified that these potential economic losses would come from situations of reductions in athletic department revenue that would reflected in lower instructional and administrative services spending, as well as direct tourism losses from lower spending at home games.
Throwback: See Texas Tech in 1947
8 of the Most Lubbock Things You Can Do