Story by
NCAA's Power Five conferences are cash cows. Here's how much schools made in fiscal 2022.
- Story by
- NCAA's Power Five conferences are cash cows. Here's how much schools made in fiscal 2022.
Clarification: The article was updated to reflect the future financial distributions and conference television revenue for Big 12 schools following the upcoming departures of Oklahoma and Texas .
The Power Five conferences combined for more than $3.3 billion in revenue during their 2022 fiscal years, their new federal tax records show. That represents an expected recovery from a pandemic-related decrease in 2021, but it also leaves the conferences short of where they would have been had their revenues kept increasing at an average annual rate that they had established before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advertisement
In addition, the Pac-12 Conference reported on its new filing that it "anticipates" filing an amended return for 2022 because of "a possible restatement" of its audited financial statements. This is connected to overpayments totaling more than $50 million that Comcast made over a period of at least five years to the conference-owned Pac-12 Networks, according to a conference spokesman, a previous statement from the conference and a wrongful-termination suit filed by two former Pac-12 executives who were fired in January after the overpayments were discovered.
In fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019, the Power Five conferences' combined revenues increased by an annual average of about 8.4%. Had they maintained that for 2020, 2021 and 2022, the fiscal 2022 figure projected to be just over $3.7 billion.
The conferences other than the SEC provided their new returns this week in response to requests from USA TODAY Sports. The SEC made its return public in February .
Overall, among the Power Five:
Advertisement
▶ The Big Ten had the greatest revenue total at $845.6 million and the greatest per-school distribution at about $58.8 million for each school other than Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers. Those schools each received several million less, the conference said, because of distribution of revenue from the Big Ten Network that was earned before they became entitled to full shares.
In February, the SEC reported what ended up being the second-highest total and distributions -- $802 million, which was lower than its total in 2021, and about $49.9 million per school.
▶ Because of changes in commissioners, and IRS rules about the reporting of compensation to highly paid former employees, the conferences reported pay for eight current or former commissioners that combined for a net total of $26.3 million for the 2021 calendar year. (The IRS requires non-profit organizations to report their revenues and expenses based their fiscal years and their employee compensation based on the calendar year completed during the fiscal year.
Former Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott had the largest single-year net total: nearly $4.1 million, although he departed his job by mutual agreement with the schools' presidents on June 30, 2021 – a year before his contract had been set to expire. His amount included $875,000 in bonus pay, as well as a $1.5 million severance payment. He also continued to have the benefit of a nearly $1.9 million loan.
Advertisement
Conference spokesman Andrew Walker said Scott received further compensation in 2022 and the loan is due to be repaid by June 30, 2024.
Scott, who became the conference's commissioner in July 2009, had totaled $48.7 million in compensation over 12½ years through December 2021.
Other conference-by-conference facts, figures and details from the documents obtained this week, along with additional comments from the conferences:
ACC
Revenue:$617 million, third among Power Five.
The total increased by $38.7 million from fiscal 2021 (6.7%), when the ACC joined the SEC as the only Power Five conferences to have a year-over-year revenue increase, as they were the most aggressive in their approaches to staging football games during the 2020 football season amid a period of considerable caution about the pandemic. The increase in fiscal 2022 was driven by the ACC Network reaching full distribution in December 2021, the conference said in a statement.
Advertisement
Per-school payouts:$37.9 million to $41.3 million, fourth among Power Five, with Notre Dame receiving $17.4 million while playing football as an independent.
The payouts vary because of reimbursements for bowl travel and participation in ACC championship events, a conference spokesperson said. They increased from fiscal 2021, in part because Notre Dame received a full share of nearly $35 million after playing the 2020 football season as an ACC school.
Commissioners' pay:John Swofford retired as commissioner on June 30, 2021, but remained on the payroll through December 2022, the spokesperson said. His total pay for the 2021 calendar year was nearly $3.4 million, with more than $3.2 million in base salary. The conference declined to provide information about Swofford's pay rate after his retirement date. In 2019, his last full year of pay not affected by a pandemic-related reduction, Swofford was reported with nearly $3.9 million in base salary.
Current commissioner Jim Phillips moved onto the payroll on Feb. 1, 2021, and had total pay of just over $2.5 million, including $2.4 million in base salary.
Advertisement
Big 12
Revenue:$480.6 million, fifth among Power Five.
The total increased by just over $124 million after decreasing by $53 million in fiscal 2021. Compared to fiscal 2019, which was pre-pandemic, the increase for 2022 is just under $42 million.
Per-school payouts:$42 million to $44.9 million, third among Power Five.
The question going forward is what these will look like for the conference's eight continuing schools as Brigham Young, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston join on July 1, and Oklahoma and Texas depart for the SEC as of July 1, 2024, which is one year earlier than originally planned.
Advertisement
It is possible the payouts, at least for the 2023 fiscal year, will be greater than those for 2022. Oklahoma and Texas have agreed to forgo a combined total of $100 million in what the Big 12 has termed "distributable revenues." That money will go to the eight continuing schools. Based on the 2022 distributions, at least some of that amount will have to occur in 2023.
Meanwhile, conference spokesman Bob Burda said, the four incoming schools will have multi-year ramp-ups to full revenue distributions. Burda declined to provide additional details, but that also will mitigate the impact on the eight continuing schools.
Commissioner's pay:In his final full calendar year as commissioner, Bob Bowlsby was credited with $4.05 million in total pay for the 2021 calendar year. His base salary of $2.25 million reflects the last part of a pandemic-related decrease he took to April 2021. But after receiving no bonus money in 2020 amid the pandemic, Bowlsby received $1.25 million in bonus pay in 2021. That's double the amounts he received in both 2018 and 2019, so he ended up being made whole in that portion of his compensation.
Brett Yormark became commissioner on Aug. 1, 2022.
Advertisement
Big Ten
Revenue and per-school payouts:See above.
The conference said in a statement that under its existing TV deals, revenue has been designed to increase by 2% to 3% each year, so it seems safe to anticipate that its revenue for fiscal 2023 will be at least $870 million and that per-school payouts will be at least $60 million.
But new television agreements with Fox, NBC and CBS begin July 1. Southern California and UCLA are set to join the conference for the 2024-25 school year. While the SEC's revenue also likely will take off with Texas and Oklahoma joining that year, figure the Big Ten's to do the same.
Advertisement
Commissioners' pay:Kevin Warren, who recently departed for the Chicago Bears , was credited with just over $3.6 million in total compensation for the 2021 calendar year. His total increased by about $140,000 over the amount reported for him for 2020. Nearly all of the increase was in deferred pay. He received no bonus money in 2020 or 2021. He has been succeeded by Tony Petitti.
Jim Delany, who retired from the Big Ten in the middle of 2020, was credited with a net total of just over $3 million in pay that represented the fourth year's worth of money from the more than $20 million in future bonuses for which he became eligible in July 2015 and the conference said he will be receiving over a 10-year span, running through the 2027 calendar year. In addition, during the 2021-22 fiscal year, Delany Advisory Inc., received $400,000 for what the new tax record described as consulting services.
Pac-12
Revenue:$580.9 million, fourth among the Power Five, pending the anticipated restatement of revenue.
Advertisement
The Pac-12 had $190 million decrease in revenue in fiscal 2021 and a $237 million increase in 2022. The future appears challenging, with Southern California and UCLA leaving after the upcoming season, no new TV deal announced yet and the Comcast overpayment issues.
Per-school payouts:About $37 million, fifth among the Power Five.
Commissioners' pay:George Kliavkoff, who took over after Scott's departure, was credited with a total of just more than $1.8 million for a period beginning July 1, 2021, including $1.75 million in base salary. Annualized, that's a little over $3.6 million. Kliavkoff received no bonus pay in 2021.
Eight other Pac-12 or Pac-12 Networks executives were credited with more than $435,000 in total pay in 2021, including four who made more than $550,000. Among those was then-Pac-12 Networks president Mark Shuken, who was credited with more than $1.1 million. He and then-Pac-12 treasurer Brent Willman (just over $650,000) were fired in connection with the Comcast overpayments and are now suing the conference.
Advertisement
SEC
Revenue:$802 million, second among the Power Five.
Per-school payouts:About $49.9 million, second among the Power Five.
Commissioner's pay:Greg Sankey was credited with just over $3.7 million in total pay in the 2021 calendar year, nearly all in base salary.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Power 5 conferences made billions last year. Here's how it adds up
