Late last month we ran a story on athletics department finances in FBS programs across the state of Texas, highlighting how Texas Tech is closer to last-place Texas State than nominal peers in Texas and Texas A&M.
Turns out the Red Raiders shouldn't feel too bad.
The Aggies and 'Horns are the two richest athletics departments in the country, according to the updated Division I financial survey USA Todayreleased on Thursday.
Texas A&M leads the way with $194 million in revenue in 2015-16, followed by Texas ($188 million), Ohio State ($171 million), Alabama ($164 million) and Michigan ($163.9 million).
Overall, the SEC ate up six of the top 10 spots and 10 of the top 17; in fact, the only non-SEC or Big Ten schools to rank in the top 20 were Texas, Oklahoma (No. 6) and Florida State (No. 18). Revenues listed first, expenses second.
The highest earning Pac-12 school was No. 23 Oregon at $111 million (Stanford and USC are private, and thus not required to disclose financial information to the NCAA), and the highest-earning Group of 5 school was Connecticut, whose $79 million in revenue was good enough for 46th on the list.
The USA Today list also tracks the progress of finances within each department. For instance, Texas A&M earned $24.7 million from ticket sales in 2005 and $47.8 million in 2016. Contributions grew from $17.6 million to $75.5 million, while rights and licensing fees skyrocketed from $16.6 million to $57.9 million. As you'll see below, the Aggies' financial hauls have exploded since moving to the SEC and rebuilding Kyle Field.
And for all crying for the end of the Big 12, the USA Today charts show Texas has tripled its rights and licensing takes while its fortunes on the gridiron tumbled.
Here's a breakdown of the three highest-earning programs in each FBS conference:
American
1. (national rank 46) Connecticut -- $79.2 million
2. (53) Central Florida -- $59.4 million
3. (54) Cincinnati -- $59.1 million
ACC
1. (18) Florida State -- $113.8 million
2. (21) Louisville -- $112.1 million
3. (27) Clemson -- $104.8 million
Big 12
1. (2) Texas -- $188 million
2. (6) Oklahoma -- $150.4 million
3. (26) West Virginia -- $105.1 million
Big Ten
1. (3) Ohio State -- $170.8 million
2. (5) Michigan -- $163.4 million
3. (11) Wisconsin -- $132.8 million
Conference USA
1. (64) Old Dominion -- $44.7 million
2. (73) Charlotte -- $37.3 million
3. (80) North Texas -- $33.3 million
MAC
1. (72) Western Michigan -- $37.7 million
2. (76) Akron -- $34.6 million
3. (78) Buffalo -- $34.3 million
Mountain West
1. (56) San Diego State -- $56.6 million
2. (61) UNLV -- $46.9 million
3. (62) Boise State -- $46.6 million
Pac-12
1. (23) Oregon -- $111.7 million
2. (25) Washington -- $107.2 million
3. (29) UCLA -- $98.9 million
SEC
1. (1) Texas A&M -- $194.4 million
2. (4) Alabama -- $164 million
3. (7) LSU -- $141.7 million
Sun Belt
1. (68) Arkansas State -- $43.1 million
2. (75) Texas State -- $34.7 million
3. (89) Appalachian State -- $31.7 million
FCS
1. (59) James Madison -- $47.4 million
2. (77) Delaware -- $34.3 million
3. (82) UC-Davis -- $32.5 million