IOWA ($180.0M) #28 in Total Revenue for Fiscal Year 2025. Clown U ($103.9M) is #68. IOWA is #3 in Net Rev Surplus ($29.1M), after Texas & Notre Dame

[RagnarLothbrok]

I think Campbell is a good coach. It will be interesting to see how he does with all of the resources he now has at his disposal.

Nothing in history suggests Matt Campbell will be anything but really good.

The question is, will “really good” be good enough for Penn State fans/alumni? I feel pretty confident in saying Matt Campbell will fare better in huge matchups than James “Big Games” Franklin ever did. That’s about all I can say for sure, though. If Penn State is expecting Urban Meyer or Nick Saban, they should probably temper those expectations now.

 

[Franisdaman]

Nothing in history suggests Matt Campbell will be anything but really good.

The question is, will “really good” be good enough for Penn State fans/alumni? I feel pretty confident in saying Matt Campbell will fare better in huge matchups than James “Big Games” Franklin ever did. That’s about all I can say for sure, though. If Penn State is expecting Urban Meyer or Nick Saban, they should probably temper those expectations now.

I lost count of how many coaches Penn State was focusing in on before they settled on Matt.

Eventually Clown U's cash reserves (that are covering their annual deficits) run dry. Then what?

The 2026 budget needed a one-time $26.7M transfer from the ISU Foundation to remain balanced.

“Going forward the cash reserves for athletics within the Foundation will not be sufficient to cover an operating deficit for FY 2027 and beyond,” ISU officials report.

 

[rchawk]

I lost count of how many coaches Penn State was focusing in on before they settled on Matt.

Eventually Clown U's cash reserves (that are covering their annual deficits) run dry. Then what?

The 2026 budget needed a one-time $26.7M transfer from the ISU Foundation to remain balanced.

“Going forward the cash reserves for athletics within the Foundation will not be sufficient to cover an operating deficit for FY 2027 and beyond,” ISU officials report.

Iowa is paying back the money it took from the UI for the Covid loan.

I highly doubt the clown athletic department will pay back money from ISU. It won't be a loan.

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[rchawk]

Regarding the future ACC-Big 12 merger, Fran's post above was helpful. From the ACC automatically in are Miami, Clemson and FSU. Very likely are Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, Brigham Young, Utah, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

Next you have a group of Virginia and Virginia Tech, Arizona and Arizona State, Kansas and Duke (non-football factor), Stanford.

Then you have the, ahem, best of the rest. Boston College, Syracuse, Kansas State, Iowa State, Colorado, Oklahoma State Cal, Baylor, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, SMU, Louisville, Cincinnati, and some directional Florida school. Are TCU and Rice in the Big 12?

If the new conference has 14 teams or 16 like the SEC, who will make the cut? You don't want too many, the Big 12 learned a lesson about adding schools that reduced existing members share of the pie.

 

[WeBeHerkin]

I lost count of how many coaches Penn State was focusing in on before they settled on Matt.

Eventually Clown U's cash reserves (that are covering their annual deficits) run dry. Then what?

The 2026 budget needed a one-time $26.7M transfer from the ISU Foundation to remain balanced.

“Going forward the cash reserves for athletics within the Foundation will not be sufficient to cover an operating deficit for FY 2027 and beyond,” ISU officials report.

The Rhuler was one before he got his huge increase and then crapped the bed from there on out.

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[rchawk]

The Rhuler was one before he got his huge increase and then crapped the bed from there on out.

I know he is a Penn State alum, but was Rhule ever a top candidate? It doesn't matter now, UN gave him all their money.

PSU may have dodged a bullet there. They should send the Nebraska athletic department a Christmas card for the next several years.

 

[rchawk]

Good for Pollard. He got his name publicized outside of the state of Iowa.

Texas Tech, BYU, Utah, Miami, Florida State, and many more don't want to disassociate themselves from the Big Ten and SEC.

He's a baby abandoned in the forest and the wolves are closing in.

 

[hawkeyemark18]

You don't have to like Jamie Pollard or Iowa State to appreciate what he has to say here. College athletics have seriously started moving in the wrong direction and Pollard has a tough situation with Iowa State so seriously in debt. I find it interesting that the Big Ten has started looking into private equity deals which Pollard turned down for better options.

 

[OnlyTheObscure]

If the big ten and sec split off that doesn’t help Iowa State at all.

players will still leave Iowa State for more money.

if he thinks the ncaa can magically then limit NIL or collectives he is smoking crack. You lose in court.

Iowa state and many other schools just need to not try and spend as much as the two big conferences and live with it.

If the split is complete, not cross scheduling then the Big 12 and ACC instantly become sore sort of quasi FCS. They will notice fan interest and ticket sales drop off a cliff.

NCAA needs to drop the rule of have X number of sports offered and allow DI schools to also play DIII in some sports. Iowa State should have football and men’s basketball and just enough women’s sports to offset the scholarships.

any other sports Iowa State offers should just be club or DIII.

 

[Franisdaman]

Good for Pollard. He got his name publicized outside of the state of Iowa.

Texas Tech, BYU, Utah, Miami, Florida State, and many more don't want to disassociate themselves from the Big Ten and SEC.

He's a baby abandoned in the forest and the wolves are closing in.

It will be interesting to see where things stand 5 years from now; 10 years from now. What will conferences look like? What will player payrolls look like?

When will teams hit a $100M payroll? I am afraid it will happen sooner than we think And if Clown U is short over $25M per year now....

 

[hawkeyemark18]

If the big ten and sec split off that doesn’t help Iowa State at all.

players will still leave Iowa State for more money.

if he thinks the ncaa can magically then limit NIL or collectives he is smoking crack. You lose in court.

Iowa state and many other schools just need to not try and spend as much as the two big conferences and live with it.

If the split is complete, not cross scheduling then the Big 12 and ACC instantly become sore sort of quasi FCS. They will notice fan interest and ticket sales drop off a cliff.

NCAA needs to drop the rule of have X number of sports offered and allow DI schools to also play DIII in some sports. Iowa State should have football and men’s basketball and just enough women’s sports to offset the scholarships.

any other sports Iowa State offers should just be club or DIII.

I didn't necessarily get the impression Pollard wants to see a split. He just has major frustration I think with his own situation and the general direction of things dominated by the two major conferences.

You touched on a key issue here spending. Spending in college athletics has become out of control at all levels and accounts for so much of the debt even in the Big 10. The spending doesn't seem sustainable long term which accounts for a big reason things will start to look different moving ahead.

 

[cyclone plastic]

Iowa State isn’t drowning in debt. ISU runs one of the leanest athletic departments in the country and stays competitive.

The real problem is the broken financial model of college athletics nationwide, not Iowa State.

 

[Franisdaman]

Iowa State isn’t drowning in debt. ISU runs one of the leanest athletic departments in the country and stays competitive.

The real problem is the broken financial model of college athletics nationwide, not Iowa State.

Being short in revenue by over $25M annually is a problem.

Your future looks bleak. But don't just take my word for it.

Excerpts from a Gazette story in the linked thread:

“ISU is engaging with the Big 12 Conference, ISU Foundation, sponsors, donors and other partners to explore additional opportunities to create growth in revenue sufficient to overcome future anticipated revenue shortfalls and to otherwise support the continued success and viability of the ISU athletics program,” department officials reported.

“Historically, (ISU) Athletics operated as a self-sufficient operation transferring the funds necessary to cover operating costs in the current fiscal year,” according to the board report.

“Prior to FY 2025, under the current administration, ISU Athletics had not incurred an operating deficit other than the COVID impacted season, which was absorbed by cash reserves.”

The 2026 budget needed a one-time $26.7 million transfer from the ISU Foundation to remain balanced.

“Going forward the cash reserves for athletics within the Foundation will not be sufficient to cover an operating deficit for FY 2027 and beyond,” ISU officials report.

Given the increase in expenses, the total FY 2026 budget for Iowa State is projected to increase 24% to $141.1M.

Clown U facing a $147 million budget deficit through 2031; will postpone Hilton Coliseum renovation & construction of new Wrestling Practice Facility

Gotta feel bad for Clown U both now and for their future. ;) It is time they drop to FCS. The story from the Gazette: Facing $147M deficit, ISU Athletics halts Hilton Coliseum renovation, ups Ticket Prices Vanessa Miller Cedar Rapids Gazette Jul. 24, 2025 AMES — Iowa State University...

www.on3.com

 

[cyclone plastic]

Iowa State is one of the very few Power Conference programs that operates with zero institutional subsidies, funding athletics entirely through media distributions, ticket sales, donations, and sponsorships. Meanwhile, some Big 12 members receive over $50 million a year in direct institutional support. At some point, the Iowa Board of Regents will have to decide how to respond. Since most P4 universities already have institutional payments, both Iowa and Iowa State will need institutional support funds to remain competitive.

 

[Franisdaman]

Iowa State is one of the very few Power Conference programs that operates with zero institutional subsidies, funding athletics entirely through media distributions, ticket sales, donations, and sponsorships. Meanwhile, some Big 12 members receive over $50 million a year in direct institutional support. At some point, the Iowa Board of Regents will have to decide how to respond. Since most P4 universities already have institutional payments, both Iowa and Iowa State will need institutional support funds to remain competitive.

Why are you attempting to lump the financial situations of Clown U and IOWA together?

Iowa had the 3rd highest surplus in the country in FY 2025, just after Texas and Notre Dame. Clown U was short $25M.


Top NET REVENUE SURPLUS (Total Rev -Total Exp) FBS athletic programs for FY25 per EADA reports:

Texas: $65.7
Notre Dame: $44.9
Iowa: $29.1
Indiana: $22.8
Penn St: $22.7
Boise St: $19.9
BYU: $16.5
Purdue: $15.4
Alabama: $14.6
Michigan: $14.3
Kansas: $13.8
Wash St: $13.7
Syracuse: $11.8
Wisconsin: $10.0
Minnesota: $10.0
Auburn: $ 9.3
Nebraska: $ 7.3
Texas A&M: $ 7.2
NC St: $6.8
Georgia: $6.8
Utah: $6.5
UCF: $5.3

 

[Cidhawkeye]

Iowa State is one of the very few Power Conference programs that operates with zero institutional subsidies, funding athletics entirely through media distributions, ticket sales, donations, and sponsorships. Meanwhile, some Big 12 members receive over $50 million a year in direct institutional support. At some point, the Iowa Board of Regents will have to decide how to respond. Since most P4 universities already have institutional payments, both Iowa and Iowa State will need institutional support funds to remain competitive.

“Iowa State WAS one…..”

FIFY

 

[Palmerhawk]

I guess Wisconsin will not be reaching out to pollard for their vacant AD job even though he did work there when ISU hired him?

Bridge burnt.

I actually thought he might be a viable candidate for that job but not now.

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Franisdaman]

Skip ahead to the 10:16 mark in the video linked below.

Keith Murphy says it best: "You can't love this if you are an Iowa State fan and you see Iowa State down there at 14th [in the 16 team Big 12]."

(#31 overall).......1. Kansas ($173.7M)
(#37 overall).......2. Colorado ($161.7M)
(#41 overall).......3. TCU ($156.0M)
(#43 overall).......4. Oklahoma State ($153.7M)
(#44 overall).......5. BYU ($153.4M)
(#50 overall).......6. Arizona State ($149.3M)
(#52 overall).......7. Baylor ($144.1M)
(#56 overall).......8. Arizona ($132.7M)
(#58 overall).......9. Texas Tech ($128.8M)
(#60 overall) 10. Utah ($125.2M)
(#63 overall) 11. Cincinnati ($119.3M)
(#64 overall) 12. West Virginia ($117.4M)
(#66 overall) 13. UCF ($108.9M)
(#68 overall)..14. Iowa State ($103.9M)
(#69 overall) 15. Kansas State ($103.0M)
(#70 overall) 16. Houston ($100.1M)

 

[Franisdaman]

When looking at conference distributions, Iowa got $35M more than Clown U.

 

[WeBeHerkin]

I guess Wisconsin will not be reaching out to pollard for their vacant AD job even though he did work there when ISU hired him?

Bridge burnt.

I actually thought he might be a viable candidate for that job but not now.

He is pretty old and really bad at NIL according to Matt Campbell

 

[ketelmeister]

For all the doom and gloom on Iowa State, you have to admit they get damn good bang for their buck vs Iowa.

 

[rchawk]

For all the doom and gloom on Iowa State, you have to admit they get damn good bang for their buck vs Iowa.

That is true, recently. Cherish those memories for fond recollection when ISU football is not in a P3 conference.

Someday, in the Green Acres Retirement Home, playing checkers while waiting for your pudding, you can tell the other octogenarians about the good old days when Iowa used to play Iowa State in football and baseball every year.

You can also tell them about the clones annually playing Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M. The orderlies will just shake their heads, feeling bad about senility setting in.