Last Updated on September 4, 2021
M
y Christmas gift to all my loyal readers this year is a look at the finances of all of the FBS football programs.
Click here to see both revenue and expenses for each FBS football program for 2013-2014.
My email subscribers received access several weeks ago, so be sure and sign up to get early access to future data and features!
Author
Kristi A. Dosh is the founder of BusinessofCollegeSports.com and has served as a sports business analyst and contributor for outlets such as Forbes, ESPN, SportsBusiness Journal, Bleacher Report, SB Nation and more. She is also the author of a book on the business of college football, Saturday Millionaires. Kristi is a sought-after consultant and speaker on topics related to the business of college sports and a former practicing attorney. Click to learn more
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In 2013-14, the average FBS program generated $25.5 million in revenue, spent $15 million and netted $10.5 million.
The medians are lower at $20 million for revenue, $17.7 million for expenses and $2.6 million in net revenue.
As you can see, however, the disparity between the highest earner and the lowest is enormous: $109.4 million to $3.3 million.
You might notice there are quite a few programs breaking even. In speaking with the college athletics administrators who prepare these numbers for the Department of Education (DOE), they tell me the DOE discourages reporting of negative numbers. The DOE’s theory is that athletic departments aren’t actually overdrawing their bank accounts, so they shouldn’t report negative numbers. So, when a program – or the athletic department as a whole – is in the red, they apply subsidies (student fees, direct support from the institution or state government) to break even or report in the black. Those subsidies are reported as revenue in this context. The programs you see breaking even are almost assuredly using subsidies to break even.
Another important note on DOE numbers is that they do not include non-operating revenue (for the athletic department as a whole, that might mean revenue from a golf course owned by the athletic department) or non-operating expense (such as debt service and capital expenditures).
| Institution Name | Total Revenue | Total Expenses | Net Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Texas | $109,400,688 | $27,675,403 | $81,725,285 |
| University of Michigan | $81,475,191 | $23,061,374 | $58,413,817 |
| University of Georgia | $77,594,300 | $26,325,257 | $51,269,043 |
| University of Florida | $74,820,287 | $25,704,553 | $49,115,734 |
| Louisiana State University | $74,275,838 | $25,822,306 | $48,453,532 |
| The University of Alabama | $88,660,439 | $41,558,058 | $47,102,381 |
| University of Notre Dame | $78,349,132 | $32,373,258 | $45,975,874 |
| University of Oklahoma | $69,647,986 | $24,533,905 | $45,114,081 |
| Auburn University | $75,092,576 | $36,306,282 | $38,786,294 |
| Ohio State University | $61,131,726 | $22,984,985 | $38,146,741 |
| Texas A & M University | $53,800,924 | $18,051,635 | $35,749,289 |
| University of Nebraska | $55,866,615 | $21,359,309 | $34,507,306 |
| University of Iowa | $55,648,679 | $21,497,369 | $34,151,310 |
| University of Oregon | $53,982,076 | $21,038,456 | $32,943,620 |
| University of Washington | $56,379,534 | $23,801,655 | $32,577,879 |
| University of Arkansas | $61,492,925 | $29,861,957 | $31,630,968 |
| Pennsylvania State University | $58,722,182 | $28,637,144 | $30,085,038 |
| The University of Tennessee | $55,359,423 | $27,850,351 | $27,509,072 |
| Michigan State University | $47,869,615 | $20,624,183 | $27,245,432 |
| University of South Carolina | $49,266,878 | $24,975,716 | $24,291,162 |
| Clemson University | $41,273,517 | $19,969,497 | $21,304,020 |
| University of Southern California | $43,809,684 | $23,049,962 | $20,759,722 |
| Florida State University | $43,085,121 | $23,427,950 | $19,657,171 |
| Texas Tech University | $34,580,384 | $15,358,775 | $19,221,609 |
| Oklahoma State University | $38,799,125 | $19,950,826 | $18,848,299 |
| University of Wisconsin | $50,641,993 | $31,811,280 | $18,830,713 |
| Oregon State University | $30,555,875 | $13,792,592 | $16,763,283 |
| University of Mississippi | $41,136,644 | $25,210,875 | $15,925,769 |
| Arizona State University | $39,210,883 | $23,509,311 | $15,701,572 |
| University of North Carolina | $31,481,105 | $15,912,188 | $15,568,917 |
| University of California | $35,656,834 | $20,149,375 | $15,507,459 |
| University of Minnesota | $36,028,193 | $20,839,079 | $15,189,114 |
| University of California-Berkeley | $37,660,430 | $23,071,010 | $14,589,420 |
| Kansas State University | $30,976,071 | $16,421,248 | $14,554,823 |
| Iowa State University | $29,475,730 | $14,984,494 | $14,491,236 |
| Washington State University | $26,926,755 | $12,658,532 | $14,268,223 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | $38,669,555 | $24,596,694 | $14,072,861 |
| North Carolina State University | $31,841,355 | $18,486,858 | $13,354,497 |
| University of Utah | $27,640,267 | $14,362,313 | $13,277,954 |
| University of Illinois | $29,267,805 | $16,551,097 | $12,716,708 |
| University of Kentucky | $30,526,981 | $18,301,396 | $12,225,585 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | $30,745,256 | $19,056,786 | $11,688,470 |
| University of Missouri | $28,792,306 | $17,358,875 | $11,433,431 |
| University of Colorado | $30,547,707 | $19,781,626 | $10,766,081 |
| Syracuse University | $33,213,622 | $22,663,307 | $10,550,315 |
| Mississippi State University | $25,824,156 | $15,279,072 | $10,545,084 |
| West Virginia University | $26,190,883 | $15,977,317 | $10,213,566 |
| Indiana University | $24,370,088 | $15,901,109 | $8,468,979 |
| Northwestern University | $30,143,982 | $21,722,796 | $8,421,186 |
| University of Arizona | $28,415,445 | $20,111,388 | $8,304,057 |
| Stanford University | $24,839,939 | $16,694,502 | $8,145,437 |
| University of Kansas | $20,949,893 | $14,330,947 | $6,618,946 |
| Boise State University | $15,284,248 | $9,200,027 | $6,084,221 |
| Baylor University | $26,270,277 | $20,299,526 | $5,970,751 |
| University of Miami | $29,986,463 | $24,672,810 | $5,313,653 |
| University of Maryland | $16,480,601 | $11,172,381 | $5,308,220 |
| Duke University | $24,121,573 | $19,234,750 | $4,886,823 |
| University of Louisville | $28,069,712 | $23,186,536 | $4,883,176 |
| University of South Florida | $16,295,130 | $12,027,850 | $4,267,280 |
| Brigham Young University | $18,639,413 | $14,428,930 | $4,210,483 |
| Boston College | $22,939,275 | $19,703,856 | $3,235,419 |
| The University of Texas at El Paso | $11,758,692 | $8,659,023 | $3,099,669 |
| Purdue University | $20,215,316 | $17,656,933 | $2,558,383 |
| Troy University | $6,678,290 | $4,327,007 | $2,351,283 |
| University of North Texas | $8,243,195 | $6,545,108 | $1,698,087 |
| Vanderbilt University | $22,628,642 | $21,279,144 | $1,349,498 |
| Texas Christian University | $32,464,146 | $31,199,116 | $1,265,030 |
| Wake Forest University | $15,143,335 | $14,054,107 | $1,089,228 |
| California State University | $9,704,118 | $8,718,043 | $986,075 |
| Eastern Michigan University | $6,289,724 | $5,448,838 | $840,886 |
| University of Wyoming | $7,802,981 | $6,981,430 | $821,551 |
| Marshall University | $7,760,381 | $7,083,399 | $676,982 |
| Florida Atlantic University | $7,287,694 | $6,726,618 | $561,076 |
| Western Michigan University | $7,482,419 | $7,112,777 | $369,642 |
| University of South Alabama | $5,764,473 | $5,453,503 | $310,970 |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | $7,241,632 | $7,025,640 | $215,992 |
| University of Pittsburgh | $19,140,812 | $18,929,148 | $211,664 |
| East Carolina University | $10,083,420 | $9,915,950 | $167,470 |
| Louisiana Tech University | $6,152,955 | $6,017,623 | $135,332 |
| Georgia Southern University | $3,637,348 | $3,521,604 | $115,744 |
| University of Virginia | $21,521,178 | $21,455,217 | $65,961 |
| Ohio University | $7,913,757 | $7,891,541 | $22,216 |
| Central Michigan University | $6,750,120 | $6,740,097 | $10,023 |
| San Jose State University | $7,575,660 | $7,572,660 | $3,000 |
| Rutgers University | $19,522,057 | $19,522,057 | $0 |
| University of Cincinnati | $16,458,502 | $16,458,502 | $0 |
| Southern Methodist University | $14,586,736 | $14,586,736 | $0 |
| Temple University | $13,182,525 | $13,182,525 | $0 |
| University of Memphis | $11,253,801 | $11,253,801 | $0 |
| Colorado State University | $11,253,326 | $11,253,326 | $0 |
| University of Tulsa | $10,992,018 | $10,992,018 | $0 |
| Rice University | $10,729,593 | $10,729,593 | $0 |
| Tulane University of Louisiana | $10,382,497 | $10,382,497 | $0 |
| University of Houston | $8,513,411 | $8,513,411 | $0 |
| Florida International University | $8,168,228 | $8,168,228 | $0 |
| Northern Illinois University | $8,146,093 | $8,146,093 | $0 |
| Middle Tennessee State University | $7,882,477 | $7,882,477 | $0 |
| University of New Mexico | $7,808,217 | $7,808,217 | $0 |
| University of Toledo | $7,758,549 | $7,758,549 | $0 |
| University of Nevada-Las Vegas | $7,482,961 | $7,482,961 | $0 |
| University of Southern Mississippi | $7,346,830 | $7,346,830 | $0 |
| University of Massachusetts | $6,926,665 | $6,926,665 | $0 |
| University of Akron Main Campus | $6,785,813 | $6,785,813 | $0 |
| University of Louisiana at Lafayette | $6,780,170 | $6,780,170 | $0 |
| Utah State University | $6,683,787 | $6,683,787 | $0 |
| New Mexico State University | $6,569,816 | $6,569,816 | $0 |
| University at Buffalo | $6,480,242 | $6,480,242 | $0 |
| University of Texas - San Antonio | $6,244,125 | $6,244,125 | $0 |
| Georgia State University | $6,177,811 | $6,177,811 | $0 |
| Bowling Green State University | $6,171,184 | $6,171,184 | $0 |
| Old Dominion University | $6,092,802 | $6,092,802 | $0 |
| Ball State University | $5,926,855 | $5,926,855 | $0 |
| Arkansas State University | $5,748,516 | $5,748,516 | $0 |
| Texas State University | $5,633,155 | $5,633,155 | $0 |
| University of Idaho | $5,607,850 | $5,607,850 | $0 |
| Kent State University | $5,357,800 | $5,357,800 | $0 |
| Appalachian State University | $4,214,171 | $4,214,171 | $0 |
| University of Louisiana-Monroe | $3,277,727 | $3,277,727 | $0 |
| Miami University | $6,922,038 | $6,922,039 | -$1 |
| Western Kentucky University | $6,406,881 | $6,406,882 | -$1 |
| University of Nevada-Reno | $6,026,259 | $6,279,506 | -$253,247 |
| University of Central Florida | $14,712,259 | $15,076,308 | -$364,049 |
| San Diego State University | $10,177,368 | $11,582,709 | -$1,405,341 |
| University of Connecticut | $11,142,560 | $13,711,350 | -$2,568,790 |
| University of Hawaii | $6,128,817 | $9,063,145 | -$2,934,328 |
Source: Department of Education
Note: Air Force, Army and Navy finances are not available. Programs that moved up to FBS in 2014 are included.
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4 Comments
buckeye
January 5, 2015 at 3:21 pm
The revenue figures for all of them ( except maybe UGA ) are way too low as so many schools lump a large amount of their revenue ( that actually comes from FB and/or men’s hoops ) into a NOT ATTRIBUTABLE TO A SPECIFIC SPORT fudge category so it doesn’t appear that FB and men’s BB make as much as they DO in reality. I seriously doubt ANY of these schools lose $ on FB and the bottom on the list are manipulating the $ numbers worst of all. It is the non-revenue sports that EAT UP all the surplus that FB and BB provide. If a school loses $ on either they should just quit like UAB.
Kei
January 7, 2015 at 3:20 pm
What’s funny is that the numbers on UAB show that it operated in the black.
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mvpacademy
August 11, 2015 at 9:31 am
Thanks for sharing this with us, keep it up