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How profitable was LSU football in 2024? How did other LSU sports teams fare?
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- How profitable was LSU football in 2024? How did other LSU sports teams fare?
BATON ROUGE — Another year, another round of profit for LSU athletics.
According to university athletic department's annual NCAA Financial Report, which The Daily Advertiser and USA TODAY Network obtained via an open records request, LSU pulled in $1.7 million in total revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
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For the first time since fiscal year 2022, LSU increased its reported revenue from the previous year. LSU saw a near $400,000 uptick in generated revenue, from $1.365 million to $1.735 million, from 2023 to 2024.
Per the report, LSU made $220,281,227 across all sports while the athletic department spent $218,545,665.
LSU saw a staggering jump in contributions to athletics, a more than $21 million increase in donations, mostly coming from "non-program specific" reported numbers with a $20 million increase. Contributions to the LSU women's basketball program was the only specific sport listed that saw a noticeable increase on contributions, up almost $500,000 from 2023 to 2024.
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The athletic department's biggest expenses were coaches salaries and bonuses as well as support staff and administrative compensation at $38,796,887 and $36,060,906 respectively. In fiscal year 2023-24, LSU operated at more than $200 million in expenses for the first time.
How much money did LSU football make? What stood out
While LSU football saw a slight dip in revenue from 2023 to 2024, the program still raked in more than $52 million. Money from media rights deals through individual game contracts as well as the Southeastern Conference and conference distributions from bowl games both went up for LSU but where the it spent more money was in coaches salaries and recruiting.
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LSU's football coaches payroll ballooned $2 million more in 2024 than in 2023 as well as the team increasing its spending on recruiting by more than $500,000.
LSU spends more money on Kim Mulkey and LSU women's basketball than LSU men's basketball, Matt McMahon
In collegiate athletics, they say you have to spend money to be good. And Kim Mulkey at the helm of LSU women's basketball, the school has been an investment in the program and it's certainly paid off on the court, headlined by the Tigers winning the NCAA championship in 2023.
LSU is one of the few athletic departments in the country that spends more on its women's basketball team than its men's squad. The women's basketball team operated at $11,874,940 in expenses in fiscal year 2023-24. McMahon's team spent $10,750,988.
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The men's team did generate profit last year at a little more than $1 million and the women's team had an $8,572,613 deficiency, according to the numbers LSU is mandated to report to the NCAA.
But LSU women's basketball had almost identical contributions than its men counterpart and for the first time, generated more than $1 million in ticket sales at $1,379,378.
Did LSU baseball make money in 2024? How LSU's other sports fared
Fiscal year 2023, LSU baseball was close to breaking even after making a run to the NCAA championship. In 2024, Jay Johnson's squad didn't get that close as LSU baseball saw a deficit of nearly $2 million. The baseball team generated $8,021,147 in revenue as it recorded $9,989,478 in expenses.
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LSU gymnastics lost more than $2.6 million in fiscal year 2024. In all, LSU sports outside of football, men's and women's basketball combined for a $30 million deficit.
Here's a look at the deficit each of LSU's non-revenue generating sports operated at during the 2023-24 fiscal year:
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Baseball: $1,968,331
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Beach volleyball: $1,434,042
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Men's golf: $1,203,047
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Women's golf: $1,314,906
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Gymnastics: $2,649,769
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Women's soccer: $2,436,371
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Softball: $3,392,063
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Men's swimming and diving: $1,613,841
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Women's swimming and diving: $1,613,847
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Men's tennis: $1,266,619
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Women's tennis: $1,317,804
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Men's track and field, cross country: $3,650,010
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Women's track and field, cross country: $3,650,011
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Volleyball: $2,550,880
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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com .
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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: How much money did LSU football make in 2024? How did other LSU sports fare?
