Posted on 01/27/2011 8:07:11 AM PST by Brookhaven
The Dogs’ offensive and defensive lines might have gotten pushed around pretty regularly this past season, but in the most recent financial figures available Georgia’s football program ruled the bottom line in the SEC, according to Forbes magazine.
UGA ranked No. 1 in the conference in football profitability in 2009-2010 according to U.S. Department of Education data, and it wasn’t even close. Georgia’s profit of $52.5 million was $8 more than second-place Florida netted. In fact, Georgia was the second most profitable football program in the country, behind only Texas.
In terms of overall revenue from gate receipts, broadcast revenues, appearance guarantees and options, concessions, and advertising, Alabama ranked tops in the SEC at $71.8 million, with Georgia second at $70.8 million.
But while Alabama was also the top spender in the SEC on grants-in-aid, salaries, travel, equipment, and supplies at $31.1 million, Georgia was only seventh in spending at $18.3 million. Thus, Georgia made more profit by spending less money on its football program than Bama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, South Carolina and even Arkansas!
Forbes notes that Georgia put just 25.8 percent of its football revenue back into the program. Meanwhile, the 2009 BCS champion, Alabama, was putting 43.3 percent back into its program, and the 2010 BCS winner, Auburn, invested 42.2 percent.
Asks Forbes: “Is there perhaps a correlation between this and results on the field? Georgia went 7-5 in 2009 and just 6-6 in 2010. … Take a look at the teams ahead of Georgia in terms of expenses. In 2010, Georgia lost to every team they played who spent more than them in 2009: Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina.”
I also wonder how facilities upgrades figure into this. Alabama renovated the Basketball facility, built a big athletic/academic complex, brought the football stadium up to 101,000 and are also making other improvements to practice facilities. That creates a debt service, but there are also donations to help with that and maybe it doesn’t come out of that pool?
So, Richt gets to keep his job because the team is so profitable? Poor dawgs.
If college football is a business, I wonder what the average salary of a CEO for a company that has $70M in revenue, and how that compares to coaches’ salaries.
“So, Richt gets to keep his job because the team is so profitable? Poor dawgs.”
I smell a Yellowjacket....
So that means Florida netted only $52,499,992?
I'll go ahead and throw this out since everyone is thinking it. Obviously they aren't paying their players enough.
Bail costs money. (Of course Georgia has had their share of run-ins as well)
I’m not a huge follower of college football, but I believe Georgia had one of the most penalized teams and was near (or at) the top of the list in arrests for the last several seasons. Didn’t help when the AD got pulled over for a DUI with someone’s (read not wife’s) panties in his lap.
In Athens and Oxford they call New Years, “Passover”.
It’s really not fair that Auburn’s profitability takes a knock because they had to payoff Scam Newton’s dad.
LOL
LOL Atlantan, Emory grad. No football to cheer for. I just see all of the articles on ajc’s site abot does he stay or does he go...
They didn't bid enough for Cam?
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