Ohio State athletics is a business, and business is booming according to an annual database of public university athletic department revenue released by USA Today.
OSU's athletic department generated $167,166,065 in 2014-15 revenue before doling out $154,033,208 in expenses, a difference of $13,132,857.
Those numbers earned Ohio State a third place finish on the list, trailing Texas (no surprise) at No. 2 and Texas A&M (surprise) at No. 1. Much like the regular season, Michigan finished behind Ohio State at No. 4 with revenues totaling $152,477,026.
Here's how the Top 6 look:
| RANK | SCHOOL | CONFERENCE | REVENUE ($) | EXPENSESES ($) | SUBSIDY ($) | SUBSIDY % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEXAS A&M | SEC | 192,608,876 | 109,313,651 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2 | TEXAS | BIG 12 | 183,521,028 | 173,248,133 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 3 | OHIO STATE | BIG TEN | 167,166,065 | 154,033,208 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 4 | MICHIGAN | BIG TEN | 152,477,026 | 151,144,964 | 263,345 | 0.17 |
| 5 | ALABAMA | SEC | 148,911,674 | 132,354,913 | 2,616,895 | 1.76 |
| 6 | FLORIDA | SEC | 147,105,242 | 125,384,443 | 1,856,122 | 1.26 |
Michigan and Ohio State are the two financial heavyweights in the Big Ten. Ohio State, Penn State and Nebraska were the only three schools in the conference to not subsidize their athletics department.
Here's how the rest of the conference shakes out, with Northwestern's data unavailable due to its private school status:
| RANK | SCHOOL | REVENUE ($) | EXPENSES ($) | SUBSIDY ($) | SUBISIDY % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | PENN STATE | 125,720,619 | 122,271,407 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 12 | WISCONSIN | 123,895,543 | 118,691,112 | 7,850,256 | 6.34 |
| 18 | MINNESOTA | 111,162,265 | 111,162,265 | 6,919,096 | 6.22 |
| 19 | MICHIGAN STATE | 108,687,274 | 108,283,151 | 702,284 | 0.65 |
| 20 | IOWA | 105,969,545 | 109,214,651 | 650,000 | 0.61 |
| 24 | NEBRASKA | 102,157,399 | 98,023,037 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 27 | MARYLAND | 92,686,128 | 92,558,535 | 14,546,411 | 15.69 |
| 33 | INDIANA | 88,362,421 | 88,330,530 | 2,707,752 | 3.06 |
| 36 | ILLINOIS | 85,998,659 | 87,163,188 | 3,728,444 | 4.34 |
| 44 | PURDUE | 75,637,694 | 74,420,334 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 49 | RUTGERS | 70,558,935 | 70,558,935 | 23,803,903 | 33.74 |
Special shoutout to Rutgers and its $23,803,903 subsidy, which puts it on par with institutions like Stony Brook, Miami (Ohio), Florida International, and Cincinnati.
