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Texas A&M supplants Texas as nation’s most valuable football program

Posted at 11:03 AM, Sep 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-12 12:03:29-04

Maybe there was something in that hiring of new Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher.

Or it might be explained by Texas’ recent on-the-field struggles.

But whatever the reason, there’s a new school at the top of college football’s most valuable programs in terms of revenue.

And it’s Texas A&M.

An annual survey released this week by Forbes Magazine indicates the Aggies now are college football’s ultimate cash cow. The Aggies produced $148 million in revenue and pocketed a cool $107 million in profit over the previous three years. That total is more than the revenue of all but 11 schools nationally.

The Longhorns finished second at $133 million. They were followed by Michigan and Alabama tied for third at $127 million in revenue and Ohio State fifth at $120 million.

Forbes’ listing of the 25 most valuable college football programs in the nation.

The Aggies closed the gap by tapping into a vast increase in contributions. Forbes reports the Aggies earned $260 million in contributions from 2014-17. That total was nearly double what any other school made.

Forbes reports that A&M is third in ticket revenue ($41 million) and sixth in money from royalties and licensing.

And the move to the Southeastern Conference has helped. SEC’s contributions were $41 million in its most recent distribution, compared to $34 million to the Big 12.

Among other Big 12 schools, Oklahoma is sixth at $118 million and Texas Tech is 25th at $60 million.