Data Unveiled Comparing UC Athletic Finances With Current Big 12 Members

The University of Cincinnati is planning a move to the Big 12 in 2024.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Nov 12, 2021 12:14 PM EST

UC Athletics is moving into the Big 12 Conference within the next three years, and it figures to be a big boon for the department financially. This week, Sportico unveiled their FBS database of athletic department spending, and we got some insight into where Cincinnati stacks up with its prospective conference peers.

Unsurprisingly, UC doesn't come close to reaching the level of revenue created from athletics that Big 12 schools produced during the 2019-20 fiscal year.

According to Sportico's database, Cincinnati spent just $74 million on athletics during the fiscal year ending in June. The lowest-spending department in the Big 12 was Kansas State, checking in just under $80 million.

The revenue story reads the same way. UC would've slotted into last place at $81.7 million, just behind KSU at $86.4 million. When taking out prospective SEC members Texas and Oklahoma, the highest revenue mark comes from Kansas ($103 million). These numbers shouldn't alarm Bearcat fans. Group of Five schools simply cannot generate the level of money that Power Five programs muster.

The biggest factor in that is TV revenue which should rise substantially as a member of the Big 12 when they enter the conference in 2024. The Bearcats TV deal with the American Athletic Conference nets them roughly $6 million annually. According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, that number will climb to $26 million in their next conference.

The biggest benefactor of that TV revenue is the football program, which is currently operating at a loss. The Bearcats spent $15.4 million on the gridiron last year and generated $10.4 million in revenue. Life is much different for Big 12 football, where every school that reported a 2019-20 financial history generated a profit from their program.

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