UConn's athletic budget much larger than other Big 12 expansion hopefuls
Berry Tramel by Berry Tramel • Published: August 22, 2016 •
That should be the Big 12’s criteria. Judge athletic programs on what they’ve done. Not on what they say they will do.
Which leads us to UConn. Among the schools outside the Power-5 conferences (and Notre Dame), Connecticut has far and away the largest athletic budget. According to USA Today’s annual research, UConn’s 2014-15 athletic budget was $72 million. The next highest total on the list was Cincinnati’s, $52 million.
Brigham Young is not on the list – USA Today was unable to find the figures for some schools – but BYU’s reported athletic budget is $57 million per year. UConn, with football attendance about half of BYU’s, spends more than do the Cougars.
That’s impressive. UConn’s commitment to big-time athletics is unassailable. It is not recent. Now, Connecticut has some other issues, which I addressed. But it’s clear that UConn is better-equipped than most to step into the high-stakes game of Power-5 athletics.
So Connecticut stands above the field. When you factor in UConn’s strong academics and its status as a flagship school in a populous state, the geographic problems are overshadowed.
More at:
UConn's athletic budget much larger than other Big 12 expansion hopefuls