Oregon Duck fans – and Pac-12 fans, for that matter – are sick and tired of hearing about how great the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is. Broadcasters constantly speak about how the SEC is ahead of the Pac-12 in recruiting, quality of play and revenue. Well, that no longer appears to be the case.
The absence of an SEC team in the 2015 NCAA Football National Championship Game is one reason to believe there’s change coming. However, it may surprise you to know that the Pac-12 made more money than the SEC and the B1G in terms of total revenue during the 2013-14 fiscal year (FY14), according to Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY Sports.
The Pac-12’s revenue nearly doubled from FY13’s $175 million to $334 million in FY14. Berkowitz also reported that Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott remained the nation’s most highly-paid conference CEO, earning just over $3.5 million in total compensation for the 2013 calendar year.
Autzen Stadium
Here’s a breakdown of the Pac-12’s total revenues for FY14: Bowl games $41.6 million, NCAA championships $26.3 million, television and media rights $252.7 million, advertising $9 million, investments totaling around $4.2 million – for a grand total of $333,992,599.
The payouts to each school are distributed as follows:
Stanford University: $19,887,061
University of Colorado: $19,875,261
University of California, Berkeley: $19,838,937
University of California, Los Angeles: $19,838,644
University of Southern California: $19,833,558
Arizona State University: $19,829,045
University of Arizona: $19,826,564
University of Washington: $19,817,015
Oregon State University: $19,795,550
Washington State University: $19,772,595
University of Oregon: $19,766,485
University of Utah: $10,161,634*
Total distributions: $228,242,350
*Utah doesn’t receive full share until FY15
For now, the Pac-12 leads all other conferences in revenue. That may change in a few years, due to the SEC’s launch of its own television network with ESPN. However, it’s safe to say that the Pac-12 isn’t content with playing second fiddle to other conferences anymore.
Top Photo by Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
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Norm Hightower is a businessman, sports enthusiast, avid outdoorsman, and lifelong Ducks fan that resides in the State of Oregon. He has a wealth of sports knowledge and experience when it comes to football and many other outdoor sports. He’s also a managing partner, writer and editor for Gridiron Media Group LLC and Ramstalk.net.