Ranked by Total Athletic Budget. Revenues are ranked before expenditures (there was one tie due to closeness of revenue). Schools in red denote football schools. Schools in blue denote basketball-only schools. Notre Dame is listed seperately due to their unique situation (independent bowls, TV deals, etc).

Notre Dame
Grand Total Revenues $83,586,903
Grand Total Expenses $57,406,114


1. Louisville
Grand Total Revenues $53,496,051
Grand Total Expenses $53,146,468

2. Connecticut
Grand Total Revenues $52,811,643
Grand Total Expenses $52,764,644

3. West Virginia
Grand Total Revenues $46,970,708
Grand Total Expenses $42,720,691

4. Rutgers
Grand Total Revenues $44,050,960
Grand Total Expenses $44,050,960

5. Syracuse
Grand Total Revenues $43,732,382
Grand Total Expenses $43,732,382

6. Pittsburgh
Grand Total Revenues $39,741,621
Grand Total Expenses $39,741,621

7. Cincinnati
Grand Total Revenues $34,172,785
Grand Total Expenses $34,172,785

8. University of South Florida
Grand Total Revenues $28,160,631
Grand Total Expenses $27,846,459

9. Saint John's
Grand Total Revenues $27,388,198
Grand Total Expenses $27,118,532

9. Georgetown
Grand Total Revenues $27,358,934
Grand Total Expenses $27,358,934

11. Marquette
Grand Total Revenues $23,677,426
Grand Total Expenses $23,677,426

12. Villanova
Grand Total Revenues $22,004,416
Grand Total Expenses $21,749,786

13. Seton Hall
Grand Total Revenues $17,345,372
Grand Total Expenses $17,345,372

14. Providence
Grand Total Revenues $15,358,018
Grand Total Expenses $15,358,018

15. DePaul
Grand Total Revenues $13,799,753
Grand Total Expenses $13,799,753

All data was provided by the US Dept. of Education http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/GetOneInstitutionData.aspx

Thanks for pointing out this website - it's fascinating information. One comment on the list: doesn't anyone else find it extremely strange that 9 BE schools have the exact same revenues and expenses??? There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it since some are football schools such as Syracuse and Rutgers and others are Catholic schools such as Georgetown and DePaul. I did a quick look at the Big Ten and SEC schools and 2 schools from each of those conferences have that situation. I didn't have time to look at the other BCS conferences, but regardless, it would be strange to have 1 school to have the exact same figures for revenues and expenses, much less 9. That's quite a red flag from an accounting perspective since it is practically impossible to spend the exact same amount of money that you take in down to the penny for any business, particularly when you're talking about tens of millions of dollars.

Frank the Tank,
Many colleges require their athletic departments to have balanced budgets.

rferry Wrote:Frank the Tank,
Many colleges require their athletic departments to have balanced budgets.

That certainly makes sense that it's a requirement by many schools. I'm just quite skeptical that any school actually spends the exact same amount that it takes in - it takes some doctoring of the books in order to have that happen.

Frank the Tank Wrote:doesn't anyone else find it extremely strange that 9 BE schools have the exact same revenues and expenses???

The only thing I can think of that would result in a perfectly balanced budget would be if those nine schools required net profits from the athletic department to be given to the University's endowment/academic administration. For example, if Depaul ended the fiscal year with a surplas of revenue from the athletic department, that net income would go to the university rather than remaining in athletics.

Either that or the Big East picked up a lot of Enron's former accountants.

My $.02... many AD's only include revenue (gate, TV, advertising, etc.) in this number and not the donations to the programs. That way if they do turn a surplus the school doesn't come looking to get some of it, and they can then carry it over to the next fiscal year.

Many schools also spend any excess at the end of the fiscal year, so they don't lose the use of the funds...

Many schools are not fully funded either. So some of the revenues include scholarship allocations from the university. And for a few colleges, some of the expenses include reimbursements to the university.

Frank the Tank Wrote:

rferry Wrote:Frank the Tank,
Many colleges require their athletic departments to have balanced budgets.

That certainly makes sense that it's a requirement by many schools. I'm just quite skeptical that any school actually spends the exact same amount that it takes in - it takes some doctoring of the books in order to have that happen.

When athletic revenues fall short, many schools have agreements to receive $$$ from the school's general fund to make sure their budget is balanced.

That's why the "revenue" side is sometimes a joke...as any extra funds immediately go into that side of the balanced equation.

KnightLight Wrote:When athletic revenues fall short, many schools have agreements to receive $$$ from the school's general fund to make sure their budget is balanced.

That makes sense, and if that is indeed the case, then you can look at the original list in a different context. Profitable schools (shown in black) versus unprofitable schools (shown in red) in the Big East. Looking at the list again, you see that 4 football schools are profitable (UofL, UConn, WVU, and USF) while only 2 basketball schools (Villanova and St. John's) are profitable. Notre Dame isn't counted in this comparison because most of their income is generated by football. The result isn't suprising (at least to me) considering that football is such a money maker for many schools.

1. Louisville
Grand Total Revenues $53,496,051
Grand Total Expenses $53,146,468

2. Connecticut
Grand Total Revenues $52,811,643
Grand Total Expenses $52,764,644

3. West Virginia
Grand Total Revenues $46,970,708
Grand Total Expenses $42,720,691

4. Rutgers
Grand Total Revenues $44,050,960
Grand Total Expenses $44,050,960

5. Syracuse
Grand Total Revenues $43,732,382
Grand Total Expenses $43,732,382

6. Pittsburgh
Grand Total Revenues $39,741,621
Grand Total Expenses $39,741,621

7. Cincinnati
Grand Total Revenues $34,172,785
Grand Total Expenses $34,172,785

8. University of South Florida
Grand Total Revenues $28,160,631
Grand Total Expenses $27,846,459

9. Saint John's
Grand Total Revenues $27,388,198
Grand Total Expenses $27,118,532

9. Georgetown
Grand Total Revenues $27,358,934
Grand Total Expenses $27,358,934

11. Marquette
Grand Total Revenues $23,677,426
Grand Total Expenses $23,677,426

12. Villanova
Grand Total Revenues $22,004,416
Grand Total Expenses $21,749,786

13. Seton Hall
Grand Total Revenues $17,345,372
Grand Total Expenses $17,345,372

14. Providence
Grand Total Revenues $15,358,018
Grand Total Expenses $15,358,018

15. DePaul
Grand Total Revenues $13,799,753
Grand Total Expenses $13,799,753