Comparing Cal Athletics' Fund Raising With Other Schools

Now that Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities and revenue-sharing with athletes have become an integral part of acquiring and retaining top college talent, fund raising has become more important than ever to achieve success in revenue-generating sports. And Cal reported this week that its athletic department has increased the amount of the donations received, especially in those revenue-generating sports.

That compares favorably with some ACC schools that have announced their fund-raising totals for athletics this year.

Cal announced that it received $88.5 million in gifts and pledges from July 2025 through June 2026 (fiscal year 2026). That’s an increase from the $82 million it received the previous fiscal year, which was a Cal record.

The most significant impact was made in the high-profile sports of football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.

Last year, Cal athletics raised $6.8 million for those three revenue-generating sports, but this fiscal year the university’s athletic department raised $30.6 million for football, basketball and women’s basketball.

A lot of schools’ athletic departments have not reported their fund-raising totals for fiscal 2026, but some have.

UCLA reported this week that its athletic department received “more than $41 million in private philanthropic support” during fiscal year 2025-26.

Some ACC schools have reported their fund-raising results for athletics:

Clemson reported getting donor funds of $86.3 million to IPTAY, Clemson’s athletic fund-raising organization, in fiscal 2026.

SMU’s athletic department reported receiving donor gifts in the amount of $98.6 million in fiscal 2026.

Florida State announced its athletic department received more than $106 million in donor pledges this past year.

North Carolina State reported it raised nearly $50 million in athletic department fund-raising for fiscal 2026.

Wake Forest reported on July 1 that its athletic department had surpassed $42 million in cash contributions for the year.

Virginia Tech has not announced its total donor contribution amount for athletics in fiscal 2026, but it reported in early June that it has received a $75 million donation, most of which will go toward athletics.

Some of the big football schools are raising an enormous amount of money.

Oklahoma, for example, announced recently that it has received $241 million in donor gifts and commitments during fiscal year 2026. That’s more than double what the Sooners received the previous year.

New Cal head football coach Tosh Lupoi has helped the Bears achieve a strong 2027 recruiting class, but money is needed to continue to attract top talent.

The estimated maximum amount each school can spend on revenue-sharing with its athletes in 2026-2027 is about $21.3 million, an increase from the $20.5 million cap in 2025–2026, which was the first year of revenue sharing.

However, College Football HQ On SI reported in February that some programs plan to exceed that amount in spending for athletes, claiming that the real limit when everything is factored in is about $40 million.

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