Ohio State, Texas athletic expenses hit record high, revenue follows

When Ohio State and Texas faced off in the Cotton Bowl, they were battling for a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Turns out, the two athletic programs had paid quite the amount to get to that point. Not just in football either but throughout every sport the respective school has to offer.

According to the USA TODAY, Texas’ operating expenses cost $325 million while Ohio State sat at $292.25 million. Those are the two highest operating expenses in the history of college athletics and Texas is the first one to report over $300 million.

This does not mean there was a loss on the year though, at least in Austin. Texas brought in $331.9 million in operating revenues to turn a profit of nearly $8 million. For the first time ever, a school reported over $300 million in expenses and revenues.

“Texas surpassed $325M in operating expenses during the 2023-24 fiscal year—the largest ever reported,” Front Office Sports said via X. “The Longhorns also brought in $331.9M in revenues, marking the first time that a DI public school has reported more than $300M in both revenues and expenses in the same year.

Ohio State was not as fortunate as Texas when it came to making a profit. The Buckeyes actually operated at a massive deficit, just over $37 million.

“While last year’s budget impact is not ideal and there were unique circumstances at play, we have a robust expense and revenue plan that has been implemented and have made great progress in this ever-changing landscape of college athletics,” Ohio State AD Ross Bjork said in a statement. “We will make sure we operate with a balanced budget moving forward.”

These are two of the biggest brands in college athletics and clearly are willing to spend money to help out their sports, not just football. Texas is a multi-year winner of the Directors’ Cup, taking home the prize in three out of the last four years. Stanford has long owned that competition, having 26 cup wins.

Ohio State has been competitive there too, finishing inside the top 10 on 15 occasions. Their best overall result is runner-up, earning the honor in 2010-11, ’15-16, and ’16-17.

Moving back to the football field, Ohio State and Texas will kick off the 2025 season against one another. You have to imagine the handshake between ADs Ross Bjork and Chris Del Conte in Columbus will be one full of smiles.