Division I
The 20 Division I FBS programs whose revenues exceeded their expenses reported median net revenue of $8.45 million. Those schools represent 16 percent of FBS.
Football Championship Subdivision schools did not follow the trend in FBS. With their generated revenue increases outpacing the jump in expenses. Generated revenues have jumped by 10.1 percent since 2012, while expenses increased by only 8 percent over the same timeframe.
Median total expenses at institutions in the five highest-resource FBS conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) was $81.7 million. The median at FBS schools outside those five conferences was $28.8 million.
Schools in the five highest-resource conferences rely on generated revenue much more heavily than their other FBS counterparts. Of $83.6 million in median total revenues at the highest-resource schools, 89 percent ($74.8 million) was generated by the athletic department. At other FBS schools, athletics generated only 40 percent ($11.6 million) of total revenues.
Since 2004, median generated revenues have increased at all FBS schools by 83.2 percent. At FCS schools, they have jumped 82.5 percent and schools without football have seen revenues climb by 62.5 percent. Over the same decade, expenses at FBS schools have climbed 114.6 percent. They jumped 88.4 percent at FCS schools and 95.5 percent at schools without football. In each instance, the increase in expenses has outpaced the growth of generated revenue, a gap that has accelerated with time.
