Which of the following is a line item revenue?

• A. Sponsorships
• B. Merchandise sales
• C. Tuition
• D. Ticket sales

Answer: (D)

In budgeting, line-item revenue means income that is tied to a specific, identifiable source and is tracked as its own line in the budget. Ticket sales fit this idea because they are the direct revenue from the athletic department’s primary activity—conducting events and selling admission. This makes them a predictable, planned-in-advance component that you can list as a separate line item like “gate receipts” or “ticket revenue.”

Sponsorships are usually recorded as separate categories such as partnerships or marketing revenue, since they come from external supporters and aren’t the direct result of selling a product or service. Merchandise sales can be treated as a sales revenue line, but in many budgets they're categorized differently from the core operating line items. Tuition belongs to the institution and isn’t typically considered athletic department revenue.

So, the line-item that clearly represents operating income from the department’s main activity is the ticket sales.