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Inside the numbers | Why college football's status for 2020 is so important

There has been much speculation on whether college football will see the field for its 2020 season. Financially, that answer is more important than you might think.

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The finances of college athletics are anything but simple, but seemingly always boild down to a simple point.

Football funds it all.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there has been mass speculation on whether college football will take the field for its 2020 season or what that season might look like. New quotes and ideas are thrown out there almost every day.

To understand just how much football matters to collegiate athletic departments, financially, you can go to each school's Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) reports turned in to the U.S. Department of Education.

We dug through the reports from all 10 schools in the Big 12 Conference and the numbers in the reports for 2018-19, the most recent school year completed and available to the public, paint that picture all too clearly.

Big 12 athletic departments net an average of $5.5 million that year, including an average net of $32.7 million in football, alone.

Nine of the league's 10 schools net more than $10 million in football, alone. The other, West Virginia, only generated $2.4 million more than it spent on football.

Credit: Kurtis Quillan

The EADA reports outline specific expenses and revenue in a few categories:

Football
Men's & Women's Basketball
All sports except football & basketball
Not allocated to a specific sport
Total

According to these reports, no school spent as much or generated as much revenue as Texas did. The Longhorns led the Big 12 in net profits in the 2018-19 year, with the department as a whole operating $40.7 million to the good.

University of Texas at Austin:

Football expenses: $43,200,270
Football revenue: $156,147,208
Football net: $112,946,938
Men's Basketball expenses: $11,649,912
Men's Basketball revenue: $16,493,236
Men's Basketball net: $4,843,324
Women's Basketball expenses: $5,335,344
Women's Basketball revenue: $2,305,200
Women's Basketball net: lost $3,030,144
Other men's sports expenses: $12,700,814
Other men's sports revenue: $9,347,829
Other men's sports net: lost $3,352,985
Other women's sports expenses: $19,942,013
Other women's sports revenue: $7,368,979
Other women's sports net: lost $12,573,034
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $82,343,701
Revenue: $24,166,649
Net: lost $58,177,052
Total expenses: $175,172,054
Total revenue: $215,829,101
Total net: $40,657,047

The next most profitable football program in the Big 12 during the 2018-19 year was Oklahoma followed by Texas Tech, in a distant third. But as an entire athletic department, Kansas State was second.

Baylor, TCU and West Virginia all reported in their EADA's they broke even in the 2018-19 school year. But none of the conference's members operated at a loss that year.

And while you might think deeper runs in a sport's postseason might net more profits, the numbers disagree. In the year reports are available for, Baylor won a national championship in women's basketball, Texas Tech made the men's basketball National Championship Game and Oklahoma made the College Football Playoff.

The Red Raiders net just $44,254. The Lady Bears broke even and the Sooners net less than half what their rivals in Austin did in football.

If you cut football-specific expenses and revenues from the equation, altogether, all 10 of the departments operate at losses. West Virginia's would be just over $2 million, according to its EADA.

Meanwhile, Texas' would be more than $72 million.

Below is a list of the total expenses and revenues for each of the nine remaining Big 12 schools, ranked from highest to lowest net profit in football.

University of Oklahoma:

Football expenses: $43,454,315
Football revenue: $94,817,907
Football net: $51,363,592
Men's Basketball expenses: $10,072,404
Men's Basketball revenue: $12,355,263
Men's Basketball net: $2,282,859
Women's Basketball expenses: $6,403,803
Women's Basketball revenue: $2,854,726
Women's Basketball net: lost $3,549,077
Other men's sports expenses: $13,108,691
Other men's sports revenue: $2,106,995
Other men's sports net: lost $11,001,696
Other women's sports expenses: $21,426,363
Other women's sports revenue: $4,489,019
Other women's sports net: lost $22,011,608
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $64,673,834
Revenue: $42,662,226
Net: lost $22,011,608
Total expenses: $159,138,410
Total revenue: $159,286,136
Total net: $147,726

Texas Tech University:

Football expenses: $20,765,181
Football revenue: $51,075,082
Football net: $30,309,901
Men's Basketball expenses: $12,338,645
Men's Basketball revenue: $12,382,899
Men's Basketball net: $44,254
Women's Basketball expenses: $4,291,342
Women's Basketball revenue: $1,110,694
Women's Basketball net: lost $3,180,648
Other men's sports expenses: $9,377,161
Other men's sports revenue: $2,792,076
Other men's sports net: lost $6,585,085
Other women's sports expenses: $9,595,179
Other women's sports revenue: $1,802,769
Other women's sports net: lost $7,793,410
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $27,333,472
Revenue: $17,279,189
Net: lost $10,054,283
Total expenses: $83,701,980
Total revenue: $86,442,709
Total net: $2,740,729

Oklahoma State University:

Football expenses: $24,289,694
Football revenue: $52,218,241
Football net: $27,928,547
Men's Basketball expenses: $6,700,510
Men's Basketball revenue: $12,659,706
Men's Basketball net: $5,959,196
Women's Basketball expenses: $3,173,869
Women's Basketball revenue: $537,099
Women's Basketball net: lost $2,636,770
Other men's sports expenses: $9,627,522
Other men's sports revenue: $2,851,690
Other men's sports net: lost $6,775,832
Other women's sports expenses: $8,030,815
Other women's sports revenue: $1,494,536
Other women's sports net: lost $6,536,279
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $38,917,543
Revenue: $21,305,680
Net: lost $17,611,863
Total expenses: $90,739,953
Total revenue: $91,066,952
Total net: $326,999

Kansas State University:

Football expenses: $20,549,475
Football revenue: $46,167,900
Football net: $25,618,425
Men's Basketball expenses: $8,028,533
Men's Basketball revenue: $10,733,840
Men's Basketball net: $2,705,307
Women's Basketball expenses: $4,253,009
Women's Basketball revenue: $340,864
Women's Basketball net: lost $3,912,145
Other men's sports expenses: $5,189,770
Other men's sports revenue: $199,404
Other men's sports net: lost $4,990,366
Other women's sports expenses: $8,856,231
Other women's sports revenue: $248,278
Other women's sports net: lost $8,607,953
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $35,351,975
Revenue: $32,229,533
Net: lost $3,122,442
Total expenses: $82,228,993
Total revenue: $89,919,819
Total net: $7,690,826

Iowa State University:

Football expenses: $26,960,124
Football revenue: $51,931,511
Football net: $24,971,387
Men's Basketball expenses: $7,693,014
Men's Basketball revenue: $14,670,525
Men's Basketball net: $6,977,511
Women's Basketball expenses: $4,336,491
Women's Basketball revenue: $630,789
Women's Basketball net: lost $3,705,702
Other men's sports expenses: $4,563,294
Other men's sports revenue: $388,372
Other men's sports net: lost $4,174,922
Other women's sports expenses: $11,423,407
Other women's sports revenue: $1,715,548
Other women's sports net: lost $9,707,859
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $24,787,210
Revenue: $10,523,300
Net: lost $14,263,910
Total expenses: $79,763,540
Total revenue: $79,860,045
Total net: $96,505

Texas Christian University (TCU):

Football expenses: $40,861,131
Football revenue: $65,384,773
Football net: $24,523,642
Men's Basketball expenses: $15,718,763
Men's Basketball revenue: $14,852,389
Men's Basketball net: lost $866,374
Women's Basketball expenses: $8,425,360
Women's Basketball revenue: $6,441,739
Women's Basketball net: lost $1,983,621
Other men's sports expenses: $12,804,916
Other men's sports revenue: $8,523,038
Other men's sports net: lost $4,281,878
Other women's sports expenses: $17,140,878
Other women's sports revenue: $10,890,193
Other women's sports net: lost $6,250,685
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $23,545,605
Revenue: $12,404,521
Net: lost $11,141,084
Total expenses: $118,496,653
Total revenue: $118,496,653
Total net: $0

Baylor University:

Football expenses: $30,995,620
Football revenue: $45,580,767
Football net: $14,585,147
Men's Basketball expenses: $9,860,432
Men's Basketball revenue: $9,860,432
Men's Basketball net: $0
Women's Basketball expenses: $9,485,162
Women's Basketball revenue: $9,485,162
Women's Basketball net: $0
Other men's sports expenses: $8,919,114
Other men's sports revenue: $8,919,114
Other men's sports net: $0
Other women's sports expenses: $17,699,230
Other women's sports revenue: $17,699,230
Other women's sports net: $0
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $24,284,361
Revenue: $9,699,215
Net: lost $14,585,146
Total expenses: $101,243,920
Total revenue: $101,243,920
Total net: $0

University of Kansas:

Football expenses: $25,325,279
Football revenue: $38,148,252
Football net: $12,822,973
Men's Basketball expenses: $12,547,439
Men's Basketball revenue: $18,974,009
Men's Basketball net: $6,426,570
Women's Basketball expenses: $3,736,593
Women's Basketball revenue: $85,917
Women's Basketball net: lost $3,650,676
Other men's sports expenses: $6,029,133
Other men's sports revenue: $83,467
Other men's sports net: lost $5,945,666
Other women's sports expenses: $13,696,174
Other women's sports revenue: $200,606
Other women's sports net: lost $13,495,568
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $55,018,472
Revenue: $62,275,757
Net: $7,257,285
Total expenses: $116,353,090
Total revenue: $119,768,008
Total net: $3,414,918

West Virginia University:

Football expenses: $22,290,035
Football revenue: $24,692,746
Football net: $2,402,711
Men's Basketball expenses: $10,798,893
Men's Basketball revenue: $8,484,584
Men's Basketball net: lost $2,314,309
Women's Basketball expenses: $4,697,807
Women's Basketball revenue: $3,091,144
Women's Basketball net: lost $1,606,663
Other men's sports expenses (includes money from coed teams allocated for male athletes): $6,786,948
Other men's sports revenue (includes money from coed teams allocated for male athletes): $16,147,414
Other men's sports net: $9,360,466
Other women's sports expenses (includes money from coed teams allocated for female athletes): $9,540,515
Other women's sports revenue (includes money from coed teams allocated for female athletes): $21,252,530
Other women's sports net: $11,712,015
Not allocated to a sport:
Expenses: $46,981,025
Revenue: $27,426,806
Net: lost $19,554,219
Total expenses: $101,095,223
Total revenue: $101,095,223
Total net: $0

According to those numbers, Big 12 football programs generate an average of $62.6 million in revenue. Football and men's basketball are the only two sports in which, Big 12 schools average a net profit.

Total profitability, by school, is ranked:

Texas
Kansas State
Kansas
Texas Tech
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma
Iowa State
Baylor, TCU, West Virginia

If the 2020 college football season went the way of the 2020 NCAA Basketball, Baseball and Softball tournaments, it would make for a dark future for collegiate athletics. And that explains why all 130 FBS athletic directors are working to make sure football season happens in some fashion.

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