Big 12 One of Three Power Conferences to Report Revenue Decline in 2023-24

According to a recent report from USA Today, the Big 12 was one of three Power Conferences to report declining revenue for the first time in more than a decade.

In Steve Berkowitz’s report, the Big 12, SEC, and Pac-12 all saw a decline in their year-over-year revenues for the first time in a non-pandemic-affected year for the first time since data began being collected in 2011.

For reference, the Big East was still alive and well, and there were six major conferences in college athletics in 2011, so this is a more-than-notable occurrence.

So, what caused the revenue dips in the Big 12? According to Berkowitz, the main culprit was bowl revenue.

“While revenue in four areas covered by the tax records increased, its bowl revenue dropped from just over $157 million in fiscal 2023 to $110.6 million in 2024,” Berkowitz wrote. “In a statement, the conference said this was mainly due to the CFP semifinal rotation, which resulted in the Big 12 not being contracted to appear in the Sugar Bowl during this fiscal cycle.”

In total, the Big 12 saw its total revenue fall approximately $17 million year-over-year, while the conference reported an operating deficit of nearly $37 million.

The 2024 fiscal year was also the last time that the conference paid Oklahoma and Texas as full members, while also onboarding BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF—each of which received ~$20 million in shares for the year.

The Big 12 disbursed between $37.8 million and $42.1 million to its remaining members schools in 2024, with the highest of those payments being enough to place them fourth among the Power Conferences.

The good news for the Big 12 is that revenue is expected to increase for fiscal 2025, thanks to the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.