Ohio State, Texas A&M Both Topped $200 Million in 2018 Athletics Revenue

Ohio State and Texas A&M's athletics programs both pulled in over $200 million in operating revenue during the 2018 fiscal year, according to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today. 

Per Berkowitz, "Ohio State had $205.6 million in operating revenue and $203.8 million in operating expenses, according to a document it provided to USA Today Sports on Wednesday in response to an open-records request."

Texas A&M's exact figures were $212.4 million on the operating revenue side and $165.8 million in operating expenses.

Berkowitz clarified that "the operating revenue amount reflects total donations raised and spent during the fiscal year while the operating expense amount does not include the donation money that was spent on capital projects." Per Texas A&M athletics CFO Jeff O'Toole, the Aggies ended in the green by about $3 million.

Texas A&M has brought in massive amounts of donations over the years, and the school notably took in $740 million in the 2013 fiscal year, according to Sam Khan Jr. of ESPN. Per Berkowitz, recent donations "have been used to pay for hundreds of millions in stadium projects for football, softball and track and field."

OSU devoted a large chunk of its expenses to the coaching side, as they received $38.9 million. Men's basketball coaches were notably paid $6.4 million in severance after head coach Thad Matta was let go in 2017 after 13 seasons in Columbus.

Football head coach Urban Meyer, who stepped down after the team's Rose Bowl win, made $7.6 million last year per Berkowitz.

The Buckeyes brought in much of their revenue through their media rights. Per Berkowitz, money from the Big Ten's new television contracts started flowing in during the 2018 fiscal year. According to Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, the conference signed a six-year, $2.64 billion deal with ESPN and Fox Sports.

Ohio State is home to 37 varsity teams, while Texas A&M has 18.