Subsidies for all Division I NCAA athletic departments in '12 rose by nearly $200M compared to '11, the "greatest year-over-year dollar increase in the subsidy total" since the data was first compiled in FY '04-05, according to Berkowitz, Upton & Brady of USA TODAY. American Council of Trustees and Alumni President Anne Neal said athletics departments getting subsidy money when they are self-sufficient "raises a major question about institutions, which are always trying to play catch-up in the athletic realm, relying on institutional and government subsidies and student fees to make ends meet at a time when we have very limited resources." She added, "And that raises questions as to whether institutions are paying attention to their primary purpose, which is education." Just 23 of 228 athletics departments at NCAA Division I public schools "generated enough money on their own to cover their expenses" in '12. Of that group, 16 schools "also received some type of subsidy." LSU, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Purdue and Texas were the "only schools to report no subsidy money" (USA TODAY, 5/8). The chart below lists the 23 D-I public universities whose athletic programs generated enough money from media rights contracts, ticket sales, donations and other sources (not including subsidies from institutional or government support or student fees) to cover their expenses.
| SCHOOL | TOTAL
REVENUE | GENERATED
REVENUE | SUBSIDY | TOTAL OPER.
EXPENSES | DIFF. |
| Texas A&M | $119,702,222 | $114,502,222 | $5,200,000 | $81,792,118 | $32,710,104 |
| Texas | $163,295,115 | $163,295,115 | $0 | $138,269,710 | $25,025,405 |
| Michigan | $140,131,187 | $139,872,302 | $258,885 | $115,200,187 | $24,672,115 |
| Ohio State | $142,043,057 | $142,043,057 | $0 | $124,419,412 | $17,623,645 |
| Arkansas | $99,757,482 | $97,808,302 | $1,949,180 | $82,470,473 | $15,337,829 |
| LSU | $114,787,786 | $114,787,786 | $0 | $101,989,116 | $12,798,670 |
| Florida | $120,772,106 | $116,415,649 | $4,356,457 | $105,102,198 | $11,313,451 |
| Alabama | $124,899,945 | $119,438,745 | $5,461,200 | $108,204,867 | $11,233,878 |
| Oklahoma | $106,456,616 | $106,456,616 | $0 | $96,250,328 | $10,206,288 |
| Kansas State | $63,271,615 | $60,535,682 | $2,735,933 | $50,994,785 | $9,540,897 |
| Washington | $82,594,783 | $79,529,283 | $3,065,500 | $73,833,643 | $5,695,640 |
| Auburn | $105,951,251 | $101,734,643 | $4,216,608 | $96,315,831 | $5,418,812 |
| Nebraska | $81,631,252 | $81,631,252 | $0 | $77,037,282 | $4,593,970 |
| Texas Tech | $67,928,350 | $64,174,371 | $3,753,979 | $60,346,836 | $3,827,535 |
| Kentucky | $88,373,452 | $87,546,280 | $827,172 | $84,929,819 | $2,616,461 |
| Purdue | $70,624,394 | $70,624,394 | $0 | $68,056,269 | $2,568,125 |
| Oregon | $94,635,829 | $92,159,969 | $2,475,860 | $89,709,350 | $2,450,619 |
| Florida State* | $100,049,444 | $92,270,583 | $7,778,861 | $90,278,878 | $1,991,705 |
| Michigan State | $93,946,707 | $89,739,977 | $4,206,730 | $88,100,432 | $1,639,545 |
| Penn State | $108,252,281 | $108,252,281 | $0 | $107,389,258 | $863,023 |
| Tennessee | $102,884,286 | $101,884,286 | $1,000,000 | $101,292,015 | $592,271 |
| South Carolina | $87,608,352 | $85,270,084 | $2,338,268 | $84,963,037 | $307,047 |
| Indiana | $72,973,954 | $70,191,874 | $2,782,080 | $69,915,060 | $276,814 |
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NOTES: * = Under Florida law, all state universities must retain -- and use for women’s athletics -- an amount equal to sales taxes they collect from tickets for sports events. FSU's figures were taken from its financial report to the NCAA, on which it reported as ticket revenue what athletics department spokesperson Rob Wilson said was $1.38M in retained sales tax. Ticket revenue is a form of generated revenue; the state sales-tax retention is a form of subsidy. Even with FSU’s figures adjusted, its athletics program was self-sufficient in '11-12 by $611,443.
