It was a banner year financially for Penn State Athletics.

The department finished the 2025-2026 fiscal year with almost 20,000 annual supporters, which closed out one of the most successful four-year financial periods in its history.

The past four years brought in $353.1 million in philanthropic commitments, doubling the previous four-year period’s $181.8 million. The stretch also resulted in four of the five largest gifts in Penn State Athletics’ history, eight of the 12 largest gifts overall, and three of the four most lucrative fundraising years ever recorded.

“This isn’t simply a fundraising milestone,” athletic director Pat Kraft said in a release. “It’s a reflection of what makes Penn State different. Every gift represents someone who believes in our student-athletes, our coaches, our people and our future. Together, our supporters have created the momentum that allows Penn State not only to compete at the highest level today, but to build one of the strongest and most sustainable athletics programs in the country for decades to come.”

The department also stated that gifts of $100,000 or more have doubled in recent years, along with an increase in ticket sales and sponsorship revenue since 2022.

The uptick in philanthropy revenue has helped certain programs, such as football, continue to step into the future of college athletics.

A large part of the donations went towards the $750 million renovation of Beaver Stadium. The school surpassed its $134.3 million fundraising goal for the Beaver Stadium renovations, crossing the $135 million mark following a $5 million gift from Bob and Sandy Poole.

The donations have also given new football head coach Matt Campbell a “war chest” of NIL funds to help the Nittany Lions on the field. It was reported that Penn State pledged the former Iowa State man an estimated $30 million in designated NIL support and $17 million for the assistant coaching and support staff pool.

Despite the surplus in donations, some teams, such as Penn State men’s basketball, remain at the bottom of the Big Ten in terms of spending.

The Athletic found the average Big Ten team is spending $14.3 million on its basketball roster this season. The Nittany Lions will spend around half of that.

“No, we’re not spending $20 million on a basketball roster,” Kraft said. “And I gotta be honest, I don’t know if there will ever be a point that we would spend $20 million on a basketball roster. It’s not a good investment. Let’s just call it what it is.”