Texas A&M Football: Are the Aggies Already Benefitting from Move to SEC?

The Texas A&M athletic program does not officially move into the Southeastern Conference until July but the Aggies have already begun to reap significant financial rewards for the move. Despite having $12.4 million withheld from their television revenue, the A&M athletic department should come close to setting a school record for revenue in 2011-2012. 

The Aggies will receive approximately $8 million in television revenue for the 2011-2012 school year. The Aggies were supposed to be paid a little over $20 million but the rest of the money is being withheld by the conference as a penalty for leaving the Big 12.

Before the Aggies forced the Big 12 to re-negotiate their television contract during the summer of 2010 it was not unusual for the Aggies to bring in around $8 million in television revenue. The lost revenue due to the move will not hurt as much as many think. 

The excitement over joining the SEC and the prospects of a top-10 team in 2011 caused the Aggies to set a record by selling out every football season ticket for the 2011 season. Despite a disappointing 7-6 season the demand for tickets has only increased. For the first time in school history there is a waiting list to buy season tickets.

More season tickets sold means more donations to the 12th Man Foundation which is the athletic department's fundraising arm. In the end it all means increased revenue for the Aggies.

The excitement over the move has also resulted in a spike in merchandise sales. According to Jason Cook, the Texas A&M Vice President of Marketing and Communications, the Aggies saw a 27 percent increase in merchandise during this school year. With more merchandise coming out in the spring and summer with the SEC logo on it those numbers should continue to go up.

There have been no set figures yet on how much the Aggies will receive in television revenue in their first year in the SEC. The future appears to be extremely bright though if the SEC goes forward with their expected move to form a conference network like the Pac-12 and Big Ten. There have been estimates that the SEC network could bring the conference around $1 billion in new revenue each year.

That works out to a little over $70 million in added revenue for each school. To put that figure into perspective, consider that the budgets for the Mississippi State and Ole Miss athletic departments are under $45 million. 

If the SEC Network approaches that kind of revenue then MSU and Ole Miss will be able to fund their athletic departments and make a tidy profit from their third tier television right alone. That network should create the kind of revenue that will enable the members of the SEC to continue to hire the best coaches and build the best facilities in the country.

The Aggies have already profited from the move to the SEC and they have not even joined yet. The financial prospectus for the A&M athletic department in the new league going forward is extremely positive.