Report: Texas A&M’s athletic program richest in Texas

Texas A&M’s athletic program was the richest in Texas, with $194.4 million in revenue during the 2015-16 school year, according to an analysis by the Texas Tribune.

But that’s because the Aggies received $75 million in donations for the renovation of Kyle Field. Without that, A&M would have been No. 2, behind Texas’ $188 million.

The Tribune analyzed financial reports of the state’s eight public universities that compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Only A&M ($57.3 million) and Texas ($16.6 million) made money on their athletics programs.

Texas Tech lost $1.4 million and Houston lost the most at $25.9 million.

The Tribune’s numbers are different from those collected by the U.S. Department of Education, which requires schools to report their athletic data annually as part of the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.

The Education Department’s data shows that TCU’s athletic revenues have more than doubled the past 10 years, to $93.3 million, but that the school still failed to generate a profit.

The football team made $18.5 million on $52 million in revenue, but that was used to offset losses by the school’s 20 other sports. The school’s athletic revenues were $40 million in 2006-07.

Baylor, like TCU, broke even on $90.8 million in revenue. Here’s a look at the numbers from the Education Department for 2015-16:

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Report: Texas A&M’s athletic program richest in Texas."