The big ten is not going to 16...so lets just stop with this super conference ****. ND is the only team out of those four that add any value to the conference. Find me 3 more that actually don't diminish the value of the Big Ten brand and then we can actually have this discussion.
Bingo! Everybody throws out these names without answering the $30 million question. The Big Ten schools aren't going to add Maryland, Missouri or Syracuse to take a pay cut.
It is anticipated that every Big Ten member, except for Nebraska, will receive well over $25 million in revenue sharing funds this academic year. By adding Nebraska, it is estimated that the Big Ten increased the revenue sharing pool by over $30 million a year.
First, Fox Sports is paying the Big Ten $24 million a year for the championship football game. With the payout from the championship game, the addition of the 12th team was relatively easy. Further expansion will be more difficult. There are very few schools that would add an instant $24 million a year to the Big Ten coffers.
The Big Ten is the most interesting conference to look at when it comes to ticket revenue, because it is the only conference that still engages in revenue sharing when it comes to gate receipts. Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State do not get the full benefit of having three of the largest football stadiums in college football.
The Big Ten shares gate receipts from both football and men’s basketball. For football, schools contribute 35% of the gate receipts for all home games against conference opponents. The minimum contribution per game is $300,000 and the maximum is $1 million, making the maximum for the season $4 million. The pool is divided equally between all schools.
One important thing to note is that the gate receipt total from which the 35% is taken does not include premiums paid for suites, club seats or the like. For example, if a school requires a minimum donation in order to qualify for season tickets or a suite, that donation amount is not included, only the face value on the tickets. Similarly, if the cost of a suite is $10,000, but the face value on the ticket is only $4,000, it is the latter amount that is used for revenue sharing purposes.
Here’s what each team in the Big Ten school contributed for the 2009 football season:
Penn State Univ. $4,000,000.00
Univ. of Michigan $4,000,000.00
Ohio State Univ. $4,000,000.00
Univ. of Iowa $3,700,000.00
Univ. of Wisconsin $3,600,000.00
Michigan State Univ. $3,600,000.00
Univ. of Illinois $2,400,000.00
Purdue Univ. $2,200,000.00
Univ. of Minnesota $2,100,000.00
Indiana Univ. $1,600,000.00
Northwestern Univ. $1,200,000.00
As a result, some schools are recipients under the revenue sharing program and others are payors. The distribution for football after the 2009 season was $2.95 million per school, meaning Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota, Indiana and Northwestern were net recipients. It is important to note that Indiana's football team was subsidized to the tune of $1.35 million & Northwestern received $1.75 million in subsidizes.
Nebraska will contribute between $3.8 to $4 million to the pool this year. Any additional schools will have to be payors to the revenue sharing program & not recipients. This is what immediately eliminates Maryland & Syracuse.
Last year, Maryland's & Syracuse's average football attendance was lower than Indiana's. Indiana average 41,953 fans a game. In contrast, Syracuse averaged 40,064 & Maryland 39,168. As a result, both schools would be large recipients in the revenue sharing program. Adding, Missouri would be a wash provided the Tigers sold out its 61,000 seat capacity stadium.
Plus, with the addition of 12 (8 conference) football games, 25 plus (18 conference) basketball games & one Big Ten tounament game for television, Nebraska will generate at least another $2 million a year to the Big Ten treasury.
Show me the $30 million!
Note, I didn't include basketball ticket revenue sharing in the discussion because it is miniscule compared to football. Even the biggest payors into the program only lose about $80,000.
