15 of the top 19 revenue-producing schools come from either the SEC or the Big Ten
Cash registers continue to sing at colleges across the nation.
Nowhere is that more true than in the SEC and Big Ten, as illuminated by USA Today on Tuesday. The folks behind the FBS coaching salary database and the FBS athletic director salary database, released their findings on the revenue streams of 228 Division I universities on Tuesday. Revenue ranged from more than $163 million (Texas) to slightly above $3 million (New Orleans) and with a spread like that, it's hard to fathom how anyone those schools are truly peers competing against each other for the same prize.
Of the 13 schools to top the $100 million mark in the 2012 fiscal year, ten came from either the SEC or the Big Ten and a 14th, Arkansas, came less than $250,000 shy from joining the club. Seven of the top eight and 15 of the top 19 revenue-generating programs came from those two conferences.
Here's a look at the top 20.
1. Texas - $163,295,115
2. Ohio State - $142,043,057
3. Michigan - $140,131,187
4. Alabama - $124,899,945
5. Florida - $120,772,106
6. Texas A&M - $119,702,222
7. LSU - $114,787,786
8. Penn State - $108,252,281
9. Oklahoma - $106,456,616
10. Auburn - $105,951,251
11. Wisconsin - $103,803,040
12. Tennessee - $102,884,286
13. Florida State - $100,049,444
14. Arkansas - $99,757,482
15. Iowa - $97,902,974
16. Oregon - $94,635,829
17. Michigan State - $93,946,707
18. Georgia - $91,670,613
19. Kentucky - $88,373,452
20. Louisville - $87,840,501
One has to feel for a school like Tennessee. The Vols are one of only a baker's dozen teams to earn nine figures worth of revenue, out-earn more than 96 percent of their Division I peers, but come in sixth place in their own conference. That's the double-edged sword of life inside the SEC.
Here's a look at the top earners by FBS conference and where they stand in the national rankings:
Big 12: Texas - $163,295,115, 1st
Big Ten: Ohio State - $142,043,057, 2nd
SEC: Alabama - $124,899,945, 4th
ACC: Florida State - $100,049,444, 13th
Pac-12: Oregon - $94,635,829, 16th
Big East: Louisville - $87,840,501, 20th
Mountain West: UNLV - $58,806,533, 47th
Conference USA: East Carolina - $35,575,172, 65th
MAC: Massachusetts - $29,762,217, 73rd
Sun Belt: Texas State - $26,886,756, 84th
Here are the top five revenue-producing FCS schools, listed by where they stand inside Division I.
67. James Madison - $34,595,223
69. Delaware - $31,115,528
86. Stony Brook - $25,938,411
89. Rhode Island - $25,719,036
90. UC Davis - $25,554,765
93. New Hampshire - $24,436,579
To see the full database, please click here.
Take a look at the hilarious note that Kliff Kingsbury left his players
With his players getting ready for summer "vacation", Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury decided to leave them a memo reminding them of the lifting times during May, and what should be important to them over the summer months in order to be successful come fall.
As only a young head coach can, Kingsbury cleverly (and hilariously) works in a few video game references to strike a chord with his players.
This is awesome.
(H/T to Bloguin for the picture)
David Shaw explains why he's impressed with Mark Helfrich
David Shaw and Mark Helfrich have a lot more in common than just being head coaches in the same conference. With Helfrich taking over things in Eugene, both head coaches have taken the reigns of very successful programs and both have taken over for head coaches who have left to conquer the NFL.
Being in a very similar situation just a few years ago taking over for Jim Harbaugh, David Shaw has kept his eye on Helfrich thus far, and explained to ESPN why he thinks Helfrich has handled the transition perfectly.
"I think he's done it perfectly so far. The first thing you don't want to do is spend so much time putting your stamp on it that you don't do what's best for the kids. The most important thing is that you put the kids in position to be successful. It's got to be about the team. And your team feeds off of that." Shaw explained.
"It's a great opportunity for Mark to step out in front and poke his chest out and talk about how great he is and all the things he's going to do and change. He hasn't done that. He's said 'Hey, we're going to play our offense. This is Oregon's offense. We're going to play as best as we can. We're going to improve every single day.'"
"All the moves he's made, all the decisions he's made, all the words he said have all been exactly what should be done," Shaw said. "That reassures your team. Really, that's how the team becomes your team because they believe in the coach and they believe he's going to do what's best for them."
Shaw, who has compiled a 23-4 record in two seasons as a head coach, knows a thing or two about making a successful transition, so it would be pretty difficult to get a better stamp of approval as a first year head coach.
It's going to be great watching these two square off in early November.
Why don't more schools release videos like this to name their captains?
New Mexico was the first team we've seen release the name of their captains with a well done video, and our first thought after seeing it was "Why aren't more teams doing something like this?".
Well Seton Hill (D-II - PA) took the idea and ran with it, tying together season highlights with pictures of their newly named captains.
Here's a look at what they came up with.
Wyoming is putting a mountain range on its new field
Graphically bold playing surface designs are a new trend that has spread quickly through college basketball. Palm trees at Long Beach State. The beach at Florida International. Pine trees at Oregon. The Rocky Mountains at the Mountain West tournament. It was a trend solely contained to college basketball, until now.
Wyoming is installing a new field at War Memorial Stadium and decided to remind opponents they were competing on a field that lies more than a mile and a quarter above sea level. While they're sticking to the traditional green between the goal lines, the Cowboys will be the first team to depict a mountain range in the end zones. And if any NCAA personnel are reading this, don't worry, there are no hashtags to be seen on the new surface.
"It's great that we are getting a new surface, and it will be nice to have our gameday gold incorporated in the new design," head coach Dave Christensen said in the school's official release.
(H/T Eye on College Football)
Two coaches elected to College Football Hall of Fame
Two more coaches joined college football's ultimate shrine Tuesday as Wayne Hardin and Bill McCartney were chosen to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Coached by one of the true masters of the game, Hardin played for Amos Alonzo Stagg at Pacific before his retirement in 1946. Hardin carries the rare distinction of being the best coach in the history of two FBS programs. From 1959-64, Hardin led Navy to 38 wins, coached two Heisman Trophy winners and beat Army five times in his six seasons. The Midshipmen registered a No. 4 final ranking in 1960 and a No. 2 spot in 1963, concluding those seasons with trips to the Orange Bowl in 1960 and the Cotton Bowl after the 1963 season.
Hardin then matriculated to Temple, where he became the Owls' all-time wins leader with 80 victories from 1970-82. His 1979 team became the first and only Temple squad to win 10 games, punctuated by a Garden State Bowl win over Cal and a No. 17 final ranking. In all, Hardin carried a 118-74-5 career record.
McCartney guided Colorado to its lone national championship in 1990 and won national Coach of the Year honors the year prior when he led the Buffaloes to an 11-1 record and a No. 4 national ranking. McCartney's career ended with a finishing kick most coaches can only wish for, with a 58-12-4 record (36-3-3 inside the Big 8) to go with three conference titles, three second place finishes, six top 20 rankings including a trio of top four final rankings, six bowl trips and the aforementioned national championship in his final six seasons.
Whereas most life-long coaches close up shop with a dozen or more stops throughout their career, McCartney was fortunate enough to spend his college career at just two stops. He became the only high school coach hired by the legendary Bo Schembechler in1974, where he remained as an assistant until getting the head job at Colorado in 1982. In his 13 seasons leading the Buffaloes, McCartney totaled a 93-55-5 career record.
Hardin and McCartney are joined in the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame Class by Ted Brown (N.C. State), Tedy Bruschi (Arizona), Ron Dayne (Wisconsin), Tommie Frazier (Nebraska), Jerry Gray (Texas), Steve Meilinger (Kentucky), Orlando Pace (Ohio State), the late Rod Shoate (Oklahoma), Percy Snow (Michigan State), Vinny Testaverde (Miami), Don Trull (Baylor) and Danny Wuerffel (Florida).
A sincere congratulations are in order to both coaches, their families and the Navy, Temple and Colorado programs. Tomorrow, we'll take a gander at what College Football Hall of Fame coaching classes may look like in the future.
Alabama spent over $3.4 million to bring the crystal ball home
The cost of bringing the crystal ball home to Tuscaloosa was anything but cheap for the Crimson Tide.
According to the bowl expense report obtained by AL.com, the trip to the national championship game in Miami this past January ended up costing Alabama $3.4 million. When you factor in the football bonuses the University paid out, the Tide spent around $4.9 million, making it the most expensive national title of their past three trips to the big game.
That's some serious dough.
AL.com also put together an interesting chart detailing the Bama's last three trips to national title game, and their expenses, which can be found below. Pretty interesting numbers in the chart, including how many people were accounted for on each trip, and the money it took to help bring the trophy to Tuscaloosa.
(H/T to AL.com for the well done chart)
If you're looking for a vacation home, Saban's place is for sale
The guys over at DeadSpin got ahold of an interesting real estate listing recently. As it turns out, Nick Saban has put his North Georgia vacation home up for sale.
The price tag for the 9,609 square foot house, sitting on 11 acres, is just $11 million.
According to the information that DeadSpin gathered, the property has 700 feet of waterfront footage, and includes 6 bedrooms, 6 full bathrooms and 3 half baths. The house also includes a custom boat house, four car garage, and a Cape Cod style lighthouse.
Yes, a lighthouse.
Since Saban and the Tide show no signs of slowing down when it comes to winning national titles, it's time someone else enjoys this gem. Take a look at the impressive property below, and for a complete list of the specs, take a look at the original article.
