Ohio State has always been a monster when it comes to pulling in revenue in athletics. The OSU program is one of the largest in the nation, has a huge following and alumni base, and gets a ton of ticket and licensing revenue.
But it has never had a year like 2022. The program announced a whopping $251,615,345 in total athletic revenue according to a financial statement made public on Thursday. This follows a year in which Ohio State had to absorb a big drop in revenue reported in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Buckeye program reported just $106,896,918 for the fiscal year of 2021.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsAs you would expect, the Ohio State football program led the way, bringing in a total of $109,176,080. That far surpasses the second-place men’s basketball program figure of $23,640,053. The football program also had the highest operating expenses by far at $69,127,911. Men’s basketball was again second with $12,121,000.
“Buckeye Nation continues to show their tremendous support for our incredible student-athletes, our coaches and our support staff. We are grateful for the enthusiasm they bring to our stadiums, fields and pools,” said Gene Smith, senior vice president and Wolfe Foundation endowed athletic director in a statement.
Football and men’s basketball were the only sports that netted a positive amount meaning those two sports funded a lot of other athletic programs, something not uncommon in collegiate sports.
You might be asking then how much money the athletic program netted then. Was it in the red or did OSU actually net a surplus? The department did indeed take home a little more than $25 million which is a very good bounce back from where things were after the pandemic.
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