For the second year in a row, the Big 12 saw a revenue over $300 million, and the conference is creeping up toward the $400 million mark after a nice increase this year. According to a report from USA Today, the Big 12 reported a revenue of $371 million for the last fiscal year, which is up from the $313 million reported a year ago.
Between the 10 conference members, each school in the Big 12 received a conference revenue share of $34.3 million, although Baylor had 25 percent of its share withheld by the conference while the school undergoes an ongoing investigation related to the school’s sexual abuse scandal it was rocked by recently. On top of the increased revenue for the Big 12, it was also learned Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby received a salary of $3.05 million.
The Big 12’s revenue stream is promising as the impact of the College Football Playoff continues to pay off for the power conferences, but the conference still lags behind other power conferences. The SEC paid each of its 14 members an average of $41 million, which is nearly $7 million more per school than the Big 12 members receive (and with four additional schools to pay in the SEC, the advantage clearly goes to the SEC here).
The updated annual revenue numbers for the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 have not been reported yet, but expect the Big Ten to stay ahead of the Big 12 and closer to the SEC. The ACC should also fare well in the revenue department. The Pac-12 could lag behind the rest of the power conferences as well when those figures are reported.
Looking forward to next year, the Big 12 should see the revenue figure continue to increase. The revenue numbers tend to go up by default, but the re-introduction of the Big 12 championship game should help pad the revenue figures a little bit more for the next fiscal year for the conference.