If you’re a die-hard college football fan, chances are you can guess the Top 10 or so richest programs around the country, but thanks to a recent study done by Penn Live we now have data to rank all 65 Power Five programs from richest to poorest.
The data is simply just the gross revenue during the fiscal year (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2018) and was released by the U.S. Department of Education. The numbers reflect the 2018 college football season and the following spring.
The 10 Poorest College Football Programs
Gross revenue in parentheses, +/-/= reflects rise, fall or unchanged rank from the previous year.
65. West Virginia ($24.7 million) =
64. Rutgers ($26.7 million) -2
63. Wake Forest ($26.7 million) +1
62. Vanderbilt ($32.1 million) -2
61. Boston College ($32.3 million) -3
60. California ($33.5 million) -4
59. Virginia ($33.7 million) -2
58. Oregon State ($35.8 million) – 5
57. Mississippi State ($38.0 million) +4
56. Kansas ($38.1 million) -1
55. Missouri ($38.5 million) +4
The 10 Richest College Football Programs
10. Nebraska ($94.3 million) +1
9. Alabama ($94.6 million) -5
8. Oklahoma ($94.8 million) -1
7. Auburn ($95.2 million) +3
6. Penn State ($100.1 million) +2
5. Ohio State ($115.1 million) =
4. Notre Dame ($115.5 million) +2
3. Michigan ($122.3 million) =
2. Georgia ($123.1 million) =
1. Texas ($156.1 million) =
Georgia coming in at the No. 2 spot may be a surprise to some people out there, but it’s worth remembering that the Bulldogs put together an 11-1 regular season in 2018 in what was Kirby Smart’s third season as head coach. Most college football fans would assume Alabama to be the richest program in the SEC, but that title belongs to UGA.
As for the rest of the Top 10, no surprises really, but seeing the amount of money Texas pulls in compared to other programs around the country is always a bit eye-popping.
You can see where all 65 Power Five schools ranked in the study here.