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Penn State Is Nation’s 14th-Most Profitable College Football Program

After a few highly successful football seasons and years of sell-out crowds, it should be no surprise that Penn State’s football program is among the most financially-successful in the country.

According to a report conducted by Forbes, Penn State took the No. 14 spot on the list after it brought in an average of $92 million worth of revenue, $48 million of which was turned to profit. In case you were wondering how insane $92 million in revenue is, that equates to about approximately 397,000 student season ticket passes (or over nine million Beaver Stadium chicken baskets).

Penn State Athletics is one of few financially independent athletic departments in the country, which means its budget isn’t funded by the university. Athletics is self-sufficient because it’s basically able to use football revenue to fund all of its other teams and programs.

Penn State ranked as the third-most valuable program in the Big Ten, as Michigan and Ohio State preceded them at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively. Other Big Ten teams that made the cut include No. 22 Michigan State, No. 23 Iowa, and No. 24 Wisconsin.

Texas A&M topped the list at No. 1, as the Aggies brought in an average revenue of $148 million across the seasons.

Penn State should take pride in being the only team from Pennsylvania included on the list, especially only years removed from sanctions that crippled the program. Stack another “W” in the win column for Penn State this week.

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About the Author

Matt DiSanto

Matt proudly served as Onward State’s managing editor for two years until graduating from Penn State in May 2022. Now, he’s off in the real world doing real things. Send him an email ([email protected]) or follow him on Twitter (@mattdisanto_) to stay in touch.

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