There is an annual revenue arms race in college sports that practically always revolves around the Ohio State University and the University of Texas at Austin. The Buckeyes and Longhorns football programs typically carry that torch, though both schools' hoops teams made the 2026 March Madness tournament.
As Bucknuts' Patrick Murphy notes, Ohio State will be able to parlay a record Big Ten distribution payout to its conference members ($1.37 billion), and, specifically, a $91.57 million payout for the Buckeyes, into continued football dominance and competitiveness in other scholarship sports.
"In an era of college sports defined by rapid structural changes, facility arms races and the impending era of direct revenue sharing with athletes, this level of institutional financial stability cannot be overstated. With one of the largest athletic departments in the country, the cost of maintaining excellence across the board is astronomical. This record distribution guarantees that the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, the Schottenstein Center, and other venues remain the gold standards for athletic facilities. It ensures that the Scarlet and Gray can continue to aggressively attract and retain the nation's most elite coaching staffs. Most importantly, it guarantees that the university can continue to provide world-class, broad-based opportunities across every sport," Murphy wrote.
The SEC has fallen off at the wrong time for Texas
2025 couldn't have gone worse for Texas and the SEC. The Longhorns lost three games, including a 14-7 Week 1 loss at the "Shoe" to Ohio State, and wasted one of only two years of Arch Manning as QB1. Meanwhile, the Ole Miss Rebels carried the torch in the CFP for the conference, missing its head coach, Lane Kiffin, who left for a bigger job, and couldn't reach the CFP title game.
Even with Texas and the Oklahoma Sooners getting a prorated version of their SEC conference payout in year two from their new homes, the "It Just Means More" conference doled out $72.4 million per school. The Big Ten Buckeyes dwarfed that and will only further their advantages.
The rich get richer in the 2020s. That means Ohio State and Texas in the College Football realm, but the latest round undoubtedly went to the Buckeyes.
Add us as a preferred source on Google