Economic Impact Study in PDF Format
The Missouri Southern Athletic Department has released its economic impact study on the Joplin area.
Conducted by Impact DataSource, LLC out of Austin, Texas, the study was commissioned as part of the University's overall study to isolate the economic and fiscal impact of the athletic department during the fiscal year 2013-14.
Missouri Southern, a university of nearly 6,000 students, studying in nearly 200 academic programs, serves the four-states region of Southwest Missouri, Southeast Kansas, Northeast Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas.
The University has been the host of the NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Meet, as well as the National Championships twice in the last four years (2012, 2015). This is an event that brings in hundreds of athletes, as well as thousands of spectators, but for the purpose of this study, those numbers were not included. With that being said, the economic impact of those events alone would greatly increase the numbers to follow.
The total economic impact of the department consists of direct, indirect and induced economic impacts attributable to the operations of MSSU Athletics. In total, the department directly, or indirectly supported 234 jobs, $5.4 million in workers' earnings and $20.5 million in economic output or sales in the region.
It's not just money spent at local retailers, restaurants, or hotels, but taxes are also collected as a direct result of the athletic department at Missouri Southern. In 2013-14, a total of $919,266 was collected and that can be broken down to $634,276 in sales tax, $22,150 in hotel tax, $74,116 in property tax and $188,725 in income tax.
The athletic department at MSSU reported a revenue of $6,376,278 in 2013-14. The department has 88 individuals employed either in part-time or full-time status with 33 full-time employees and pays out $2.1 million in workers' earnings. With that said, however, the department also supported another $600,000 in other earnings for workers in related spin-off jobs in the area. But, the economic output or sales of those individuals totaled nearly $10 million in that year.
The department's contribution to the community does not stop at support with jobs or other financial means, but also the department serves as a leader in philanthropical ventures in the area. In 2014, over 2,000 canned good items were collected and donated to a local food shelter. Another initiative spurred on by the female athletes raised over $13,000 for the Freeman Foundation for breast cancer and research. In total, the over 330 student-athletes, as well as staff, compiled over 16,000 hours of community service since 2011.
It's also not just the people directly connected to the University, but outside fans or spectators coming in for each of the department's events that help bring in business to the community. In 2013-14, the Missouri Southern men's and women's basketball programs ranked in the top 25 nationally in attendance, while football ranked 31st and baseball was 16th. In total, 132,380 people attended events on the campus of Missouri Southern in 2013-14. Those visitors to the community spent $553,746 in lodging and $7.5 million altogether. The study found that MSSU Athletics was responsible for 6,222 hotel nights used in the city of Joplin over the year.
It is safe to say the Missouri Southern athletic department has been quite the boon to the local economy and will continue to do so for years to come. Those interested in getting a more in-depth look at this study can view the entire report in PDF format by clicking on the link at the top of the story.
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