Clemson athletics’ spending, revenues up significantly in recent years. A closer look
The price of college athletics has never been higher.
That was the main takeaway from the Clemson athletic department’s latest NCAA financial report, which showed the Tigers more or less broke even … by making and spending about $193 million apiece during fiscal year 2024.
The NCAA requires schools to submit financial reports annually. Clemson’s latest report, obtained by The State via a public records request on Tuesday, covers the fiscal year 2024 period that ran from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
Clemson’s total operating revenues during the 12-month period were $193.9 million, according to the report, and its total operating expenses were $181.9 million.
That would indicate the department made roughly $12 million more than it spent. But Clemson said in a statement that its NCAA financial report did not account for the nearly $13 million the university spent on athletics-related “capital projects and facility enhancements” during the same period.
Those expenses came in the form of cash transfers to plant funds, the school said.
Factoring in those additional expenses, which the NCAA report does not account, the Clemson athletic department more or less spent as much as it made in fiscal year 2024. The end result was a net loss/deficit of several hundred thousand dollars.
Other power conference schools have reported deficits ranging from a few million dollars (Indiana) to tens of millions (Ohio State), per reports.
“The Clemson University Athletic Department has worked diligently to build financial health, including more robust revenue generation avenues and thoughtful evaluation of expenses throughout the organization,” Clemson said in a statement.
Big increases across the board
Although updated NCAA financial data for all schools isn’t readily available yet, Clemson’s operating revenues for fiscal year in 2024 should place the Tigers among the top earners in the ACC and somewhere among the top 20 to 25 schools nationally.
Last year, Clemson’s $195.9 million in total operating revenues ranked No. 1 among the eight public ACC schools and No. 13 nationally, trailing exclusively SEC and Big Ten schools (many of whom are making and spending well over $200 million).
Clemson’s total operating revenues for fiscal year 2024 ($193.9 million) are down about $2 million, or 1%, from the $195.9 million the department reported in fiscal year 2023, according to documents.
Some of that can be attributed to the FY 2023 data including a portion of a “historic” donation Clemson received in December 2022 from a prominent booster couple.
The department’s NCAA-reported total operating expenses rose 4% from $174.2 million in fiscal year 2023 to $181.9 million in fiscal year 2024.
Overall, Clemson’s earnings and spending are up significantly over the past eight years, according to previous NCAA financial reports obtained by The State.
The Tigers’ athletic department reported $111.1 million in expenses and $112.6 million in revenue during fiscal year 2017. The fiscal year 2024 numbers resemble an 84% increase in expenses and a 72% increase in revenue from those numbers.
The same holds true for more recent years. Clemson reported $143.3 million in total expenses and $158.2 million in total revenues in fiscal year 2022. Two fiscal years later, those totals are up 27% and 22%, respectively.
“Clemson has maintained a strong position relative to our peers thanks to the significant support from our IPTAY members, fans, and sponsors, which allows us to pursue competitive excellence and drive the No. 1 Student Experience,” Clemson said in a statement.
Athletic director Graham Neff announced last fall that Clemson is committed to paying out the maximum amount of revenue-sharing money ($20.5 million) directly to its athletes starting this summer as a result of the NCAA House settlement expected to be finalized later this year.
Clemson athletics also plans to fund an additional 150 scholarships in non-revenue sports and said generating additional revenue and donations remains a key focus.
“As we look to expand scholarship opportunities and enter a revenue-sharing era, this ongoing engagement is more important than ever,” Clemson said.
Clemson NCAA report takeaways
Here’s what else the school’s fiscal year 2024 NCAA financial report revealed:
- Among $193.9 million in revenue, Clemson’s top three money-making categories were contributions/donations ($69.8 million), ticket sales ($39.2 million) and media rights ($30.6 million). Sponsorships also generated $21.1 million.
- Clemson’s $39.2 million in ticket revenue was a noticeable jump from its $31 million the previous fiscal year. The football team, unsurprisingly, was the top earner, accounting for 88% of total ticket sales revenue ($34.5 million). Men’s basketball accounted for $1.9 million, and baseball accounted for $1.85 million.
- Football also generated $26 million of Clemson’s $30.6 million in media rights earned during fiscal year 2024, which includes “the portion of conference distributions related to media rights” from the ACC. Men’s basketball generated the remaining $4.5 million in that category.
- The athletic department’s three largest expenses were support staff/administrative salaries ($35.8 million), head coach/assistant coach salaries ($33.3 million) and athletic scholarships ($24.5 million). Team travel was next at $11.1 million.
Football, as expected, accounted for the majority of the support staff salary and coaching salary expenses. Between the portion of coach Dabo Swinney’s salary that Clemson pays and 10 football assistant coach contracts, the department spent $17.3 million on football coaching salaries. Football support staff/administrative compensation accounted for an additional $10.4 million.
The department spent $4.7 million on recruiting and $3.1 million on football recruiting specifically. The next most expensive team was women’s basketball ($263,644 spent on recruiting). Men’s basketball spent $201,928.
The football team was attributed with generating $87.1 million in total revenue for the athletic department against $67.7 million in operating expenses (plus $19.4 million). Men’s basketball slightly lost money, generating $10.9 million against $11.6 million in spending (minus about $726,000). Baseball generated $3.9 million and spent $6.4 million (a nearly $2.5 million deficit).
Clemson’s women’s sports teams combined to generate $15.1 million in revenue and incur $30.8 million in expenses. The women’s basketball team generated the most revenue ($1.8 million) as well as the most expenses ($6.5 million) among 12 women’s teams and finished fiscal year 2024 losing $4.6 million.
The popularity of the school’s gymnastics team is reflected in the report. During its first season of competition, Clemson gymnastics generated $319,106 in ticket sales revenue (second among women’s teams, trailing only softball). Gymnastics also accounted for the most “gameday” revenue (game programs, novelties, parking and concessions) of any of the 12 women’s teams, generating $52,697.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 10:59 AM.
