Byu probably missed on over 50 million in ticket revenue. We have big donors but it's not an endless supply. At a time when costs were higher because of testing and other requirements. Play missed in stadium advertising revenue, March madness revenue. Etc..
Small dollar donors make up a much bigger % than you think. Yes big donors put us over the top and make us a big time program but without small donors it doesn't work either. Not being critical but your attitude is common amongst byu fans just wanting the big donors to do all the work. Big time programs have both a few big donors and tons of small donors.
Byu is also unique in that we can't go into debt. Other programs even the biggest programs went into debt those years