What the top 75 college sports programs are worth

 

What the top 75 college sports programs are worth

In aggregate, the SEC is worth roughly $13.3 billion, an average of about $832 million per school; followed by the Big Ten at about $13.2 billion, an average of roughly $734 million per school; the ACC at roughly $10 billion, or about $558 million per school; and the Big 12, at roughly $6.7 billion, or about $420 million per school.

College Athletics Valuations 2024

Rank	Program	Valuation	Revenue	Conference	City	Public/Private
1.	Ohio State University	$1.32B	$280M	Big Ten	Columbus, OH	public
2.	University of Texas at Austin	$1.28B	$271M	SEC	Austin, TX	public
3.	Texas A&M University	$1.26B	$279M	SEC	College Station, TX	public
4.	University of Michigan	$1.06B	$230M	Big Ten	Ann Arbor, MI	public
5.	University of Alabama	$978M	$200M	SEC	Tuscaloosa, AL	public
6.	University of Notre Dame	$969M	$224M	ACC	Notre Dame, IN	private
7.	University of Georgia	$950M	$210M	SEC	Athens, GA	public
8.	University of Nebraska	$943M	$205M	Big Ten	Lincoln, NE	public
9.	University of Tennessee	$940M	$202M	SEC	Knoxville, TN	public
10.	University of Oklahoma	$928M	$199M	SEC	Norman, OK	public
11.	Penn State University	$924M	$202M	Big Ten	University Park, PA	public
12.	University of Southern California	$923M	$212M	Big Ten	Los Angeles, CA	private
13.	Louisiana State University	$916M	$200M	SEC	Baton Rouge, LA	public
14.	University of Florida	$865M	$189M	SEC	Gainesville, FL	public
15.	University of Wisconsin	$838M	$198M	Big Ten	Madison, WI	public
16.	Clemson University	$800M	$196M	ACC	Clemson, SC	public
17.	University of Oregon	$780M	$151M	Big Ten	Eugene, OR	public
18.	University of Arkansas	$776M	$167M	SEC	Fayetteville, AR	public
19.	University of Kentucky	$775M	$174M	SEC	Lexington, KY	public
20.	Auburn University	$772M	$195M	SEC	Auburn, AL	public
21.	University of Iowa	$747M	$167M	Big Ten	Iowa City, IA	public
22.	Michigan State University	$740M	$171M	Big Ten	East Lansing, MI	public
23.	Stanford University	$687M	$180M	ACC	Stanford, CA	private
24.	Florida State University	$673M	$170M	ACC	Tallahassee, FL	public
25.	University of Illinois	$665M	$148M	Big Ten	Champaign, IL	public

2022-2023 Gross Revenue Totals by Conference for the P5 (Totals and Averages)

 

2022-2023 Gross Revenue Totals by Conference for the P5 (Totals and Averages)

SEC:
5. Georgia: $210,108,069
9. Louisiana State: $200,476,979
11. Texas A&M: $194,254,820
12. Auburn: $192,658,903
13. Tennessee: $191,271,254
14. Alabama: $191,190,486
18. Florida: $176,795,879
19. Arkansas: $170,990,473
22. Kentucky: $166,423,002
23. South Carolina: $160,420,147
36. Mississippi: $136,764,296
48. Vanderbilt: $125,133,666
49. Missouri: $124,293,939
57. Mississippi State: $115,664,788
Total Revenue: $2,356,446,701
Average Per School: $168,317,621.50
UP from 2021-22 $13,142,075


B1G:
2. Ohio State: $249,698,974
6. Michigan: $206,514,688
7. Penn State: $201,533,972
10. Nebraska: $197,009,548
15. Wisconsin: $190,564,690
21. Iowa: $166,886,577
30. Michigan State: $149,254,610
31. Indiana: $143,221,485
38. Minnesota: $136,614,891
41. Illinois: $134,767,269
44. Rutgers: $130,221,793
50. Purdue: $124,290,313
53. Maryland: $121,183,392
56. Northwestern: $117,587,514
Total Revenue: $2,268,945,594
Average Per School: $162,067,542.43
Up from 2021-22 $12,261,620


ACC:
3. Notre Dame: $224,191,928* (Total not included with ACC)
20: Florida State: $170,434,508
24. Miami: $159,633,958
25. Louisville: $155,191,814
27. Duke: $152,509,818
28. Clemson: $152,093,316
34. North Carolina: $137,918,817
37. Pittsburgh: $136,704,076
45. Virginia Tech: $129,705,818
47. Virginia: $125,968,540
52. N.C. State: $121,444,506
55. Boston College: $118,430,392
58. Georgia Tech: $115,654,077
59. Syracuse: $113,510,249
64. Wake Forest: $97,298,475
Total Revenue: $1,886,498,364
Average Per School: $134,749,883.14
Up from 2021-22 $13,057,491


Big 12:
1. Texas: $261,353,404
7. Kansas: $205,747,275
16. Oklahoma: $183,919,881
29. Texas Christian: $149,297,918
35. Baylor: $137,460,582
51. Texas Tech: $123,551,688
54. Oklahoma State: $119,235,776
61. West Virginia: $103,142,400
62. Kansas State: $102,332,761
65. Iowa State: $93,048,114
Total Revenue: $1,479,089,799
Average Per School: $147,908,979.9
Up from 2021-22 $19,676,572 (mostly due to Kansas)


PAC 12:
4. Southern California: $212,013,703
17. Stanford: $179,645,688
26. Washington: $154,849,477
32. California Los Angeles: $141,964,728
33. Arizona: $138,761,638
39. Colorado: $136,114,468
40. California: $134,872,865
43. Oregon: $132,359,145
46. Arizona State: $128,265,591
60. Utah: $111,483,459
63. Oregon State: $97,792,784
66. Washington State: $79,015,052
Total Revenue: $1,647,138,598
Average Per School: $137,261,549.83
Up from 2021-22 $16,262,933


Brigham Young: $106,430,702
Central Florida: $88,199,644
Southern Methodist: $86,044,162
Houston: $84,023,065
Cincinnati: $77,436,016

Realigned 2022-23 Revenue (USA Today)

 More from ACC Football RX

Realigned 2022-23 Revenue (USA Today)

USA Today does a pretty decent job of standardizing the accounting differences to give us a look at how schools actually compare when it comes to sports revenue. This is their most-recent data (public schools only), broken out by the new 2024 conference alignments...

School	ACC	B1G	SEC	XII	Other
Ohio State		$251,615,345
Texas			$239,290,648
Alabama			$214,365,357
Michigan		$210,652,287
Georgia			$203,048,566
LSU			$199,309,382
Texas A&M			$193,139,619
Florida			$190,417,139
Penn State		$181,227,448
Oklahoma			$177,320,217
Auburn			$174,568,442
Michigan State		$172,799,513
Indiana		$166,761,471
Virginia	$161,916,231
Florida State	$161,141,884
Kentucky			$159,079,024
Clemson	$158,283,618
Tennessee			$154,566,935
Oregon		$153,510,555
Arkansas			$152,513,755
School	ACC	B1G	SEC	XII	Other
Iowa		$151,483,092
Wisconsin		$150,100,977
Louisville	$146,225,965
Illinois		$145,735,330
Washington		$145,184,864
Nebraska		$143,423,944
South Carolina			$142,210,807
Missouri			$141,157,028
Minnesota		$135,198,272
Mississippi			$133,557,937
Arizona				$124,353,539
North Carolina	$122,603,567
Arizona State				$121,079,615
California	$118,212,179
Kansas				$118,020,175
Utah				$115,719,266
Purdue		$115,139,432
Virginia Tech	$113,000,052
Iowa State				$111,287,492
Mississippi State			$110,653,367
School	ACC	B1G	SEC	XII	Other
Texas Tech				$110,154,695
Rutgers		$109,601,529
Maryland		$107,526,374
Georgia Tech	$106,635,094
West Virginia				$105,193,311
Oklahoma State				$104,404,398
UCLA		$103,061,344
NC State	$102,387,569
Kansas State				$100,822,204
Connecticut					$99,041,960
Colorado				$94,873,830
Central Florida				$89,228,205
Washington State					$85,028,825
Oregon State					$83,480,015
Cincinnati				$83,344,028
Houston				$78,088,086

ACC once the richest Conference

 

Doing some research and, well, *some* things in college sports haven't changed over the past 30ish years ... pic.twitter.com/tLwz7hW9wP

— Andrew Carter (@_andrewcarter) July 31, 2023

FSU ranks 15th nationally among public schools in athletics revenue; 2nd in ACC

 

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).

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2023/06/14/sec-big-ten-2-billion-athletics-revenue-power-five/70313053007/

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.

https://247sports.com/college/florida-state/board/36/Contents/fsus-athletic-department-generates-highest-revenue-since-201718-211577411/?page=1

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.

https://www.on3.com/teams/florida-state-seminoles/news/florida-state-ranks-15th-nationally-among-public-schools-in-athletics-revenue-2nd-in-acc/

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

For Fiscal Year 2022; only includes public institutions

FSU AD Revenue, 2005-22

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]

2022 FSU Revenue Data (along with UNC, Ohio St, UGA, Clemson)

Great info from ACC Football RX and HokieMark 

2022 FSU Revenue Data

From the Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State athletics profits over $10.3 million in 2022 fiscal year

Here are some insights and observations...

For the 2022 fiscal year, from July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022, the Seminoles listed $161.1 million in operating revenue. The operating expenses for the year was $150.7 million.

2021-22 FSU Operating Revenue	$161.1 million
2021-22 FSU Operating Expenses	$150.7 million

This year, the Seminoles saw a return to normalcy for ticket sales to bring in more revenue, but also a return to normal for travel costs, as well as recruiting costs.

Revenue

Here is a summary of the biggest FSU Athletic Department revenue sources for 2021-22:

Media Rights Fees (TV)	$30.3 million
Other ACC Revenue	$10.7 million
Revenue from Royalties	$24.4 million
Donor Contributions*	$42.3 million
Ticket Sales	$18.8 million
Institution Support	$13.6 million

Comments on Revenue:

1. TV revenue continues to rise rapidly, but not as rapid as in the SEC and the Big Ten.

2. Other ACC Revenue must include NCAA Basketball Tournament distributions, since I don't see anywhere else it might be hiding. CFP base distribution, as well as bowl pool, ACC CG pool, and other shared revenues would also be included here, presumably.

3. The article mentions that donations were down a bit, possibly due to the economic slowdown. (* note: the OP reported $41.7 M in donations, but here I'm using the number from the Knight-Newhouse database instead).

4. On the other hand, Ticket Sales were up, driven by $15.13 million in football ticket sales.

5. The University itself pitched in another $13.6 million (this was negligible in 2021), and reflects a portion of the Federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) which was allocated to Athletics.

Expenses

Now for a summary of FSU's primary Athletic Department Expenses for 2021-22:

Coaches' Salaries	$25.6 million
Overhead/Admin	$22.2 million
Sports Team Travel	$9 million
Gameday expenses	$3.5 million
Recruiting expenses	$1.6 million

Comments on Expenses:

1. Coaches, who had taken a pay cut during the pandemic, saw a nice bump in their paychecks.

2. With the end of the pandemic, there was more team travel, gameday expenses, and an increase in recruiting-related expenses.

__________

In addition to the data from 247Sports, I also used the Knight-Newhouse database to confirm some numbers - and to get these additional ones:

• Other (non-ACC) Revenue: $11,376,724
• Competition Guarntees: $607,500
• Student Fees: $8,691,672

Amounts reflect current dollars.

Florida State also had some additional expenses in the Knight-Newhouse database:

• Other Expenses: $34,813,122
• Medical Expenses: $1,812,040
• Competition Guarantees: $2,443,718
• Facilities and Equipment: $38,252,948
• Athletic Student Aid: $10,789,646

That "Competition Guarantees" category presumably is for "buy-a-win" type home games. Of course, "Athletic Student Aid" includes scholarships for football and basketball players, etc.

Comparing 2022 Revenues

How did some of the top-performing football teams from the top 3 conferences compare in terms of 2021-22 revenue? Here you go...

Big Ten vs. SEC vs. ACC Revenues

	Ohio State	Georgia	Clemson
Total Revenue	$251,615,345	$203,048,566	$158,283,618
NCAA and/or Conference Distributions, Media Rights, and Post-Season Football	$71,915,212	$58,622,396	$40,207,257
Donor Contributions	$63,582,228	$74,315,945	$60,859,475
Ticket Sales	$59,649,921	$37,192,353	$31,980,356
Corporate Sponsorship, Advertising, and Licensing	$30,088,073	$20,779,037	$15,904,910
Competition Guarantees	$4,000	$10,000	$22,000
Institutional and/or Government Support	$0	$0	$6,387,497
Student Fees	$0	$3,530,802	$0
Other Revenue	$26,375,911	$8,598,033	$2,922,123

Things we learn from this chart:

1. Money is important, but doesn't guarantee anything. Eventual National Champion Georgia had $50M more revenue than Clemson, but then Ohio State had $50M more than Georgia. Basically, the Buckeyes were as far in front of the Bulldogs as Georgia was in front of Clemson!

2. Conference distributions - which almost always include TV revenue - is the #1 or #2 source of income (the other being donor contributions). Ticket sales are the next biggest income source, followed by sponsorships and licensing. Institutional Support (Clemson) and Student Fees (Georgia) make up most of the rest, except in the Big Ten where there's a mysterious "Other Revenue" category.

3. Clemson doesn't just trail Ohio State and Georgia in TV revenue, but also in donations, ticket sales, and licensing, too - basically, all of the top four. Ideally, Clemson would get more TV money from the ACC while avoiding the direct competition that comes with being a member of the B1G or the SEC. It remains to be seen if this will be an option or not.

__________

Source data:

2022 Ohio State

https://knightnewhousedata.org/fbs/big-ten/the-ohio-state-university

2022 Georgia

https://knightnewhousedata.org/fbs/sec/university-of-georgia

2022 Clemson

https://knightnewhousedata.org/fbs/acc/clemson-university

2022 UNC Revenue Data

From 247Sports - Next Level: The Money Side of UNC Athletics by Greg Barned - here are some insights and observations...

...details from the University of North Carolina's annual financial report to the NCAA for fiscal year 2021-22... which includes data from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, details a record $122.6 million in total operating revenues as well as total operating expenses of $120.3 million. The athletic department’s total operating revenue jumped by $20.7 million year-over-year, marking the 11th time in 12 years that total has increased...

Here are some highlights from the OP:

Media Rights Fees (TV)	$31.50 million
Other ACC Revenue	$6.20 million
NCAA Units Revenue	$4.00 million
Duke's Mayo Bowl Rev.	$1.60 million
TOTAL Conf. Distribution	$43.3 million

That tv revenue number has really gone up, and it isn't all from the ACC Network - although that's probably about $9 - $10 million of it. That said, the T1 is also escalating by a little over $1M/year.

Perhaps even more interesting is the bowl money. It doesn't say bowl share - it lists a specific bowl. Does this mean that the ACC has already implemented "eat what you kill" for bowl games? 

Total Ticket Sales	$30.20 million
MBB Ticket Sales	$16.40 million
Football Tickets	$12.70 million
all other sports tickets	$1.10 million

Obviously, not all ACC schools make that much on basketball  - but some make more on football. 

Donor Contributions	$20.62 million*
Royalties, Licensing, Ads, and Sponsorships	$12.80 million

two sources had a small discrepancy on donations. All other numbers were corroborated. 

Coaches salaries, etc.	$21.40 million
Severance payments	$3.20 million
FB-related comp.	$10.90 million

Larry Fedora is the severance pay here. Football-related compensation is about half of the total.

Athletic Student Aid	$13.70 million
Athletic Team Travel	$10.50 million
Sports equip/supplies	$4.40 million
Game day expenses	$4.90 million
Recruiting expenses	$2.50 million
Direct overhead/admin	$11.00 million
Other Operating Exp.	$7.70 million

Nothing all that interesting about these expenses.

UNC Football total revenue	$56,631,600
UNC Basketall total revenue	$32,234,012

The ACC as a whole is said to be 75 to 80% football in terms of revenue, but UNC is more like 64/36%.

Athletic-related Debt	$108.90 million
Athletic Endowments	$496.10 million

Wouldn't every ACC school like to have an AD Endowment that large or larger?

__________

In addition to the data from 247Sports, I also used the Knight-Newhouse database to confirm some numbers - and to get these additional ones:

• Other Revenue: $5,544,455
• Competition Guaramtees: $562,565
• Institutional/Government Support: $1,738,279
• Student Fees: $7,864,743

Amounts reflect current dollars.