Lots of goodies in USA Today’s recently released study of athletic revenue among all D1 sports programs. I thought it good to narrow the lens onto the SEC programs and see where Arkansas ranks among its conference brethren* in terms of pure, hard cash. So I wrote this piece for Sporting Life Arkansas looking at how well each school has performed in terms of total revenue and in football performance since 1992, when Arkansas joined the SEC.
Turns out, Arkansas is pretty middling in all the rankings, including win percentage (8th highest among the 14 current SEC members).
It stands out in one category, though: the degree to which it’s self sufficient. That is, how much money its athletic program nets when subsidies –Â money transferred from other parts of the university, student fees or state funds – aren’t considered.
In this category (labeled “Difference” below) Â Arkansas ranks #2 for the 2011-12 year, only behind Texas A&M.
Category: 2012 Generated Revenue
What is Means: All the money the athletic program brings in, minus the amount given to the program in the form of
subsidies.
| Alabama |
$119,438,745 |
| Florida |
$116,415,649 |
| LSU |
$114,787,786 |
| Texas A&M |
$114,502,222 |
| Tennessee |
$101,884,286 |
| Auburn |
$101,734,643 |
| Arkansas |
$97,808,302 |
| Georgia |
$88,426,801 |
| Kentucky |
$87,546,280 |
| South Carolina |
$85,270,084 |
| Mississippi State |
$65,828,880 |
| Mississippi |
$49,692,777 |
| Missouri |
$48,783,721 |
Category: 2012 Total Expenses
What is means: Everything it takes to keep all sports within an athletic program running, from the salaries of swimming coaches  to the Wendy’s receipts on those football recruiting trips through Houston.
| Alabama |
$108,204,867 |
| Florida |
$105,102,198 |
| LSU |
$101,989,116 |
| Tennessee |
$101,292,015 |
| Auburn |
$96,315,831 |
| Georgia |
$88,923,561 |
| South Carolina |
$84,963,037 |
| Kentucky |
$84,929,819 |
| Arkansas |
$82,470,473 |
| Texas A&M |
$81,792,118 |
| Mississippi State |
$67,926,160 |
| Missouri |
$66,980,889 |
| Mississippi |
$51,708,064 |
Category: 2012 Difference
What it means: The difference between a program’s generated revenue and total expenses. This is a strong signal of whether a program is self-sufficient or not. Put another way, in the chart below, Ayn Rand would be proud of those programs in the black and would frown on those in the red.
| Texas A&M | $32,710,104 |
| Arkansas | $15,337,829 |
| LSU | $12,798,670 |
| Florida | $11,313,451 |
| Alabama | $11,233,878 |
| Auburn | $5,418,812 |
| Kentucky | $2,616,461 |
| Tennessee | $592,271 |
| South Carolina | 307,047 |
| Georgia | ($496,760) |
| Mississippi | ($2,015,287) |
| Mississippi State | ($2,097,280) |
| Missouri | ($18,197,168) |
Category: 2012 Subsidy
What is means: Money allocated to the athletic program from other parts of the university, student fees or state funds.
| Alabama | $5,461,200 |
| Texas A&M | $5,200,000 |
| Florida | $4,356,457 |
| Auburn | $4,216,608 |
| Mississippi State | $4,000,000 |
| Georgia | $3,243,812 |
| South Carolina | $2,338,268 |
| Mississippi | $2,166,216 |
| Arkansas | $1,949,180 |
| Missouri | $1,935,944 |
| Tennessee | $1,000,000 |
| Kentucky | $827,172 |
| LSU | $0 |
*Vanderbilt isn’t included in the charts above because, as a private university, its financial information isn’t mandated to be disclosed to the public.Â
