Wisconsin Badgers Crack Top 25 in 2022 List of Total Athletic Revenue

In a story posted by USA Today Sports writer Steve Berkowitz this week, he reported that the Wisconsin Badgers and their athletic department came in at No. 22 in the 2022 NCAA list of total revenue. 

The Badgers finished in 7th out of the Big Ten, behind the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Indiana, and Iowa. 

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The Big Ten and SEC Conferences are in a league of their own

In addition to Berkowitz’s individual school breakdowns, he reported that the Big Ten and SEC conferences finished with over $2 billion in total revenue from their respective athletic departments. The SEC ended with $2.17 billion in revenue, and the Big Ten came in at $2.04 billion.

“Each of those conferences has one private school, which makes for imperfect comparisons with the other Power Five conferences,” Berkowitz explained. “The Atlantic Coast Conference has six private schools among its 14 full members (Notre Dame is an independent for football). The Big 12 and Pac-12 each have two private schools. And while the Pac-12’s private schools, USC and Stanford, likely are among its revenue leaders, Vanderbilt and Northwestern likely are — at best — at the mid-level of revenue within the SEC and Big Ten, respectively.”

Here’s a full list of the top 25 schools with the highest athletic revenue in 2022, courtesy of Brett McMurphy, who covers college football for the Action Network (dollar amounts are in millions):

1- Ohio State $251
2- Texas $239
3- Alabama $214
4- Michigan $210
5- Georgia $203
6- LSU $199
7- Texas A&M $193
8- Florida $190
9- Penn State $181
10- Oklahoma $177
11- Auburn $174
12- Michigan State $172
13- Indiana $166
14- Virginia $161.9
15- Florida State $161.1
16- Kentucky $159
17- Clemson $158
18- Tennessee $154
19- Oregon $153
20- Arkansas $152
21- Iowa $151
22- Wisconsin $150
23- Louisville $146
24- Illinois $145.7
25- Washington $145.1

Final Thoughts on the Wisconsin Badgers 

This report, and list in total, confirms what we already knew, that the Wisconsin Badgers are way more of a have than a have not in the current college athletics landscape. 

With the Big Ten making significant changes to the conference, adding programs like USC and UCLA after next season, the addition of Luke Fickell, plus the expansion of the college football playoffs, Wisconsin is well-positioned to make a leap on this list in the coming years. 

It’s an excellent time to be a Wisconsin Badgers fan. 

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