Inside College Sports’ Biggest Money Machine Presented By: The OARS

By The Numbers Ohio State’s athletic budget for the current year of 2007 is $109,382,222. The school spends about $110,000 on each of its 980 athletes. This is triple the amount the university spends per undergraduate on education. Last season, Ohio State’s football program generated about $57 million in revenue. OSU’s men’s basketball team, turned a record $9 million profit this past year. Ohio State’s athletic budget is the largest in the nation and the biggest in the history of college sports.

The Gold-Plated Island The State of Ohio’s median household income fell 9.3% between 2000 and Ohio has the nation’s highest rates for foreclosures and delinquent mortgages. During the second quarter of 2007, 22.9% of Ohio homeowners were over 90 days late. Ohio has two of the five poorest cities in America – Cleveland and Cincinnati. From 2000 to 2006 the state lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs and added only 40,000 new jobs. From 2002 to 2005 the Ohio Legislature decreased support for OSU, in response OSU raised its annual tuition nearly 60% from 2002 to 2006.

Preserving “Opportunities” OSU is 1 of 19 schools to turn a profit on athletics in OSU states that its athletic department is self-sufficient – it uses its sports revenues to fund all of its teams and operations. OSU does not draw from the same budget used to fund its academic departments. A 2005 economic-impact study, commissioned by OSU, estimated that the school’s sports program pumps over $100 million a year into the local economy. The football and men’s basketball programs at OSU are the only sports there that turn a profit Their revenues support teams that other universities have eliminated for lack of funding.

Preserving “Opportunities” ( cont.) OSU’s varsity synchronized swim team competes in a $20 million facility, nicknamed the “Taj Mahal.” A multimillion dollar renovation of the school’s “Scarlet” golf course added a short-game practice area and enlarged the course to over 7,400 yards. OSU’s pistol team maintains a supply of 30 firearms for the team’s 11 members and all the team members receive free Nike gear. Excluding football and basketball, OSU's other 34 teams generate about $1.5 million in revenue. Expenses for the women's hockey team totaled a little over $1.2 million while the sport brought in just $1,642, all from its arena concessions. The department contributed $5 million to help fund renovations to the campus's main library.

Ranking/School Total Athletic Expenses Athletic Revenue Football Revenue Total Football Expenses Football Operating Expenses Football Operating Expenses Per Player ( 1) Ohio State $101.8 $104.7 $60.8 $32.3 $4.7 $45,630 ( 2) South Florida $ 24.3 $ 25.8 $ 8.8 $ 6.7 $1.7 $14,910 ( 3) Boston College $ 51.8 $ 53.2 $16.5 $15.1 $3.5 $33,646 ( 4) LSU $ 62.7 $ 64.9 $39.5 $14.3 $1.1 $ 8,708 ( 5) Oklahoma $ 64.3 $ 64.5 $33.8 $13.8 $1.1 $ 9,150 ( 6) South Carolina $ 53.1 $33.1 $13.3 $1.3 $11,375 ( 7) Kentucky $ 57.1 $19.8 $ 9.3 $1.2 $ 9,016 ( 8) Arizona State $ 46.6 $ 48.4 $24.7 $14.4 $2.9 $24,745 ( 9) West Virginia $ 39.2 $ 49.9 $22.1 $11.9 $3.6 $24,870 (10) Oregon $ 44.6 $ 45.1 $18.9 $12.7 $1.0 $ 8,029 Source: Office of Postsecondary Education Note: Numbers are in millions except for per-player data. Athletic Budgets of College Football’s Top 10 Schools

Darwinian Approach Rutgers cancelled six sports, including swimming, men’s tennis, and fencing due to cited budget shortfalls. The athletic department gave assistant football coaches a sizable raise. They completed a $12.5 million renovation of the football’s training complex. They are in the midst of a stadium renovation that will add nearly 10,000 seats. Many other schools are taking a similar approach as Rutgers.

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