FSU ranks 15th nationally among public schools in athletics revenue; 2nd in ACC
Florida State’s athletic department generated the 15th most revenue nationally among public schools, according to a USA Today report that compiled each Division I program’s athletic spending in a database that was released Tuesday.
FSU generated $161,141,884 for the 2022 fiscal year to rank second in the ACC behind No 14 Virginia (about $162 million).
Among ACC schools, while FSU is second, it would have would rank No. 6 in the Big Ten and No. 7 in the SEC, showing the discrepancy in growing revenue between the bigger conferences and the ACC.
In-state rival Florida reported revenue of over $190 million, nearly $30 million more than Florida State.
For FSU, the revenue is the highest since 2018 when it recorded a revenue of $168,177,850.
The Seminoles athletic department pulled in $129,481,351 in 2020 and $152,757,883 in 2019.
The biggest notable gain for FSU was in rights/licensing, where it brought in a new record of $65,815,245, compared to the previous high of $57,527,347 (2019).
Using median values for their schools’ revenues, rather than the averages, the conferences ranked in the following order:
SEC: $159.1 million.
Big Ten: $150.1 million.
ACC: $134.4 million.
Pac-12: $117 million.
FSU operated with $150,777,734 in expenses, meaning the athletic program should’ve finished well within the black based on those figures. The ACC, per the report, had a median revenue of $134.4 million which ranked third behind the SEC ($159.1 million) and the Big Ten ($150.1 million).
The revenue growth for FSU in 2021-22 was significant from the previous cycle, which was to be expected as the $129,743,001 department revenue (per Sportico.com) was accumulated during the pandemic. Still, the revenue was the highest for FSU since 2017-18 ($168,177,850).
FSU’s football program operated under $54,558,109 of expenses vs. $77,804,570 of revenue. That revenue for football also represented the highest amount since the 2017-18 fiscal year when the program had $94,991,411 in revenue.
One other noteworthy development was the amount of money FSU generated from Licensing and Ads, which was at $24,428,412 in revenue for the most recent fiscal year per Sportico. This is an initiative that athletic director Michael Alford has taken to gross more money for the athletic department, and the program is generating significantly more in this area than it has in prior years.
From a national perspective, FSU’s revenue would rank No. 6 in the Big Ten and No. 7 in the SEC. Of course, those conference schools receive much more money from their television and media contracts.
Here’s a look at where the ACC schools and some other notables rank:
| Nat’l Rank – School | Revenue (FY2022) | Expenses (FY2022) |
| 14. Virginia | $161,916,231 | $150,584,173 |
| 15. Florida State | $161,141,884 | $150,777,734 |
| 17. Clemson | $158,283,618 | $143,356,820 |
| 23. Louisville | $146,225,965 | $139,978,927 |
| 32. North Carolina | $122,603,567 | $120,314,967 |
| 38. Virginia Tech | $113,000,052 | $117,777,441 |
| 44. Georgia Tech | $106,635,094 | $104,719,581 |
| 48. N.C. State | $102,387,569 | $100,991,410 |
| Other notable programs | ||
| 1. Ohio State | $251,615,345 | $225,733,418 |
| 3. Alabama | $214,365,357 | $195,881,911 |
| 5. Georgia | $203,048,566 | $169,026,503 |
| 8. Florida | $190,417,139 | $174,365,070 |
FSU Revenue and Revenue Sources: 2005-2022
| Year | Total Revenue | Ticket Sales | Contributions | Rights / Licensing | Student Fees | School Funds | Other |
| 2022 | $161,141,884 | $18,773,797 | $42,279,406 | $65,815,245 | $8,691,672 | $13,597,540 | $11,984,224 |
| 2020 | $129,481,351 | $17,341,676 | $37,215,952 | $47,481,397 | $8,743,772 | $6,010,649 | $12,687,905 |
| 2019 | $152,757,883 | $20,347,512 | $40,308,148 | $57,527,347 | $8,431,335 | $7,175,684 | $18,967,857 |
| 2018 | $168,177,850 | $24,414,864 | $55,886,370 | $46,070,530 | $8,493,715 | $0 | $33,312,371 |
| 2017 | $144,514,413 | $25,046,047 | $41,504,734 | $36,709,768 | $8,446,443 | $0 | $32,807,421 |
| 2016 | $113,754,314 | $20,206,022 | $32,382,845 | $36,140,389 | $8,364,645 | $0 | $16,660,413 |
| 2015 | $120,822,522 | $26,169,018 | $25,265,420 | $49,576,951 | $8,287,769 | $0 | $11,523,364 |
| 2014 | $104,774,474 | $25,550,753 | $22,521,553 | $40,493,922 | $7,980,366 | $0 | $8,227,880 |
| 2013 | $91,382,441 | $20,302,766 | $18,894,097 | $36,775,949 | $7,859,734 | $0 | $7,549,895 |
| 2012 | $100,049,444 | $20,379,815 | $31,000,624 | $36,511,620 | $7,778,861 | $0 | $4,378,524 |
| 2011 | $78,575,788 | $17,980,170 | $19,302,120 | $27,432,139 | $7,528,006 | $0 | $6,333,353 |
| 2010 | $74,402,269 | $15,775,516 | $23,245,513 | $25,882,320 | $6,919,449 | $350,000 | $2,229,471 |
| 2009 | $74,417,324 | $18,260,626 | $25,572,654 | $25,722,130 | $6,772,105 | $700,000 | $0 |
| 2008 | $73,458,494 | $13,393,780 | $25,190,569 | $24,348,076 | $6,590,629 | $0 | $3,935,440 |
| 2007 | $77,257,845 | $15,279,152 | $22,751,726 | $21,719,651 | $6,066,563 | $350,000 | $11,090,753 |
| 2006 | $67,012,792 | $13,260,770 | $16,053,230 | $19,523,617 | $6,011,806 | $350,000 | $11,813,369 |
| 2005 | $56,576,933 | $12,709,321 | $16,414,490 | $17,166,315 | $4,796,773 | $0 | $5,490,034 |
What's Up?
Rights & Licensing hit an all-time high for Florida State, paying out nearly $66 million in 2022. The school itself decided to kick in another $13.6 million to help out the athletic department, too.
What's Down?
After years of mediocre-to-bad football, it's not surprising that ticket sales were down (about $6 million below 2018 figures and almost $8 million below 2015). That will likely change in 2023 now that the Noles are back in the double-digit wins. Contributions were down from the 2018 high, but still very good from a historic standpoint. Whatever's in the "other" category, the Noles got a lot less of it in 2022 (down $22 million from 2018 and $7 million less than 2019).
Prognosis
Rights & Licensing will hold at the new level, and ticket sales will get back up to previous levels. The school funds will probably revert to a lower amount, roughly cancelling out the increased ticket sales (if I had to guess). All things considered, I'd look for FSU to be back in the $160 to $170 million range again by the end of the 2023 fiscal year. It should be noted that the last time the Noles won the national title, they did it with $70 million less revenue... [I welcome comments from Seminole fans]
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