Michigan football’s financial performance per FY2023 report
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (BVM) – The University of Michigan Wolverines’ athletic department filed its annual financial report to the NCAA for the 2023 fiscal year.
Here are the takeaways about the football program’s revenue, expenses and profits.
BVM Sports obtained the 96-page filing through an open records request. Note that fiscal year 2023 covers the reporting year from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
Revenue
Michigan’s athletic department generated $229.6 million in total operating revenue in FY2023. In comparison, the department made $210.7 million in FY2022 and ranked No. 4 in the nation for department revenue (behind Alabama, Texas and Ohio State). It’s unclear where Michigan ranks for FY2023 since all of the data isn’t readily available yet.
Football revenue: The Wolverines football program generated $142.8 million in revenue in FY2023, an increase of $11.4 million from FY2022. Men’s basketball was the second-biggest revenue generator at $20.9 million.
Ticket sales: Football saw the biggest uptick in ticket revenue – skyrocketing from $47.5 million in FY2022 to $57 million in FY2023. That figure is substantially greater than the ticket sales from Georgia football ($36.7 million) or even Alabama football ($37.9 million). Notably, the Wolverines men’s basketball team followed as the second most in-demand sports program ($5.3 million in ticket revenue).
Game programs, novelties, parking and concession sales: Football experienced a 38% annual surge, reaching a total of $3.6 million in FY2023.
Media rights: Michigan’s media rights deals totaled $47.9 million – between football ($38.3 million) and men’s basketball ($9.6 million).
Expenses
For the first time in history, Michigan’s athletics as a whole cracked the $200 million mark in total operating expenses; the department spent a record-breaking $225.5 million in FY2023 (up $32 million from FY2022).
Team expenses: Football’s expenses rose from $52.4 million in FY2022 to $67.8 million in FY2023. Men’s basketball was the second most expensive sports program to run on Michigan’s campus at $12.1 million.
Meals: Football’s non-travel meal allowances, food and snacks totaled $4.6 million in FY2023. Men’s basketball, on the other hand, spent just $101,252.
Team travel: Meals provided to players on the road were reported under “team travel,” but this category also takes into account lodging, air and ground travel. Team travel for football doubled to $4.3 million in FY2023.
Recruiting: Back in FY2022, Michigan football ranked among the nation’s top 10 in recruiting spending ($2.2 million). In FY2023, the Wolverines spent $2.4 million to recruit their football players, which was exactly 50% of the university’s recruiting budget for all sports. The substantial investment laid the groundwork for the Wolverines to acquire the No. 17 recruiting class in 2023 and the No. 16 class in 2024.
Salaries: Head and assistant football coaching salaries, benefits and bonuses rose from $16.4 million in FY2022 to $20.2 million in FY2023. Jim Harbaugh was the No. 12 highest-paid college football coach in 2023.
Profits
Michigan’s athletic department recorded a net profit of $4.01 million in FY2023, which unfortunately represents a $13.1 million decline from FY2022 profits.
Football’s profits: Michigan football made a staggering $75 million in profits in FY2023. Aside from football, the only other profitable team was men’s basketball ($8.8 million).
In FY2022, the Wolverines were the No. 3 most profitable college football program in the country ($79 million). A ranking for FY2023 is expected to become available later in the year.
Overall, the next fiscal year report (FY2024) will be available by January 2025. This report will encompass data from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 – which will represent a split between Jim Harbaugh’s and Sherrone Moore’s time in Ann Arbor.
