It would seem that the Big 10 schools are solidly profitable in football.
The variability of the expense number is interesting but probably reflects
different accounting practices.  It is also curious how such divergent
reports on the cash flow of football can surface--I believe I recall a
report in the Chronicle of Higher Education that would seem to be at odds
with the USA Today report but perhaps in a side by side analysis they are
not mutually exclusive because using totals or averages might make things
look quite different especially when adding in all programs not just Div.
1A.
 
Anyway, the real reason I am writing is to ask if there is comparable data
for college hockey.  I have heard wildly divergent numbers quoted for the
cost of running a Div. 1 hockey program ranging from $250,000 to a high of
about $1,000,000.  The most commonly cited numbers are around $500,000.
Given the Big 10 expenses quoted for Basketball which has a smaller squad
size, fewer scholarships and comparable travel and facility expenses
$500,000 seem improbably low for hockey.  The Big 10 figures do show about
a $1,000,000 gap in "other men's expenses" for example in Ohio State &
Wisconsin versus Penn State & Purdue and that difference may be almost
entirely hockey.
 
--Steve Rockey
 
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