If you live in the United States, you will likely see college football on the television from time to time. In other countries worldwide, college sport rarely makes it that big, especially compared to American football. 

In this article, we will be discussing everything that there is to know about college athletics, including whether or not it makes the educational institution money. More so, we will mention how American football influences the money earned by college institutions. 

Money From College Athletics

Asking whether or not colleges make money from their athletics may seem like a ridiculous question. After all, the money from television contracts, ticket sales, donations, bets, and merchandise sales has to go to somebody. However, the answer is actually quite shocking. 

Even though many schools see huge sums of money from college athletics, only a handful actually see the profits. Below, we have made a list of the top 10 highest-earning colleges when it comes to athletics:

10. Louisiana State University – $150,000,000
11. University of Florida – $160,000,000
12. University of Oklahoma – $163,000,000
13. University of Alabama – $164,000,000
14. Penn State University – $165,000,000
15. University of Georgia – $174,000,000
16. University Of Michigan – $198,000,000
17. Ohio State University – $211,000,000
18. Texas A&M University – $213,000,000
19. University Of Texas – $224,000,000

Football Is The Biggest Sport But Doesn’t Always Ensure Profit For The College

The biggest sport in each of the ten schools listed above is football. Since the early 1800s, American football has been the most significant and influential college sport, often financing the school’s other sports. In fact, most schools earn as much revenue from this one sport as they do from all the others combined. 

However, this does not necessarily mean that these colleges are making a profit from their football team. According to the NCAA, only 25 of the 65 Division I schools ended up making money. More so, the average amount earned was a little under $8,000,000, much less than you might have expected. 

This occurs because running an entire athletics program costs more than the money generated through football and the other sports combined. The bigger the athletics team, the more money the college spends on its program. 

Concluding Thoughts

Many people believe that colleges make millions through their athletics teams. However, the cost of running athletics programs is often higher than the profit earned by the school. Even though football is so massive in the States, it usually does not make any profit.