One of the key selling points from athletic departments and administrations on college football realignment was that it would benefit schools and teams economically. 

Well, per several new filings from Big Ten institutions, from 2023-2024, it didn’t exactly work out that way.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that the Ohio State University athletic department posted a deficit of approximately $38 million in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. 

That report said that OSU athletics posted nearly $293 million in expenditures during that time frame, with roughly $255 million in revenue. That was $25 million less revenue from the 2022-2023 fiscal year. And though some level of deficit was expected, the scale of it was surprising.

Athletic Director Ross Bjork released a statement on it, saying, “while last year’s budget impact is not ideal and there were unique circumstances at play, we have a robust expense and revenue plan that has been implemented and have made great progress in this ever-changing landscape of college athletics. We will make sure we operate with a balanced budget moving forward.”

The Buckeyes weren’t the only ones in this situation.

Big Ten Schools Struggling To Balance Budgets

Michigan State had a $16 million deficit. Rutgers posted a massive $70 million deficit. 

And UCLA, yet again, posted a big deficit in its athletic department.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Bruins had a $30 million deficit in the 2024 fiscal year, making it six consecutive years in a row for the UCLA athletics program. That took its total deficit over that period to $220 million. 

Per the Times, the university will “cover the latest deficit, as it has in the past and does with other campus departments.”

So why is this happening? How is this even possible? And how will these universities compete once revenue sharing with the players starts in earnest?

Coaching buyouts, increased travel expenses, the necessity of spending resources on money losing sports…it all contributes. And it shows why realignment was essentially a necessity. If, for example, UCLA continues to lose money even with increased revenue distributions from the Big Ten’s television deals, imagine how much worse it could have been in the Pac-12. 

With Ohio State’s national championship, you’d have to imagine that deficit would close quickly. Michigan State has a legitimate chance in basketball, which would certainly increase revenue. UCLA and Rutgers? Not so much.