Florida was one of the top programs, in not just in the SEC, but all of college football in terms of profit and revenue not long ago. When Binghamton Rumble Ponies left fielder/designated hitter, Tim Tebow, was playing quarterback in Gainesville, the Gators consistently generated $95 to $115 million annually.
Things started to go south after Urban Meyer “retired” and gave way to Will Muschamp. The program really jumped the shark when Jim McElwain was hired in 2015 though. Although the Gators made two SEC Championship Games with McElwain steering the ship, they had zero chance in either. By showing up in Atlanta, they were basically just chumming the water then going for a swim off the coast.
Even though Florida’s income numbers are down, their costs were comparatively low and their profit margin of $49.1 million in 2016-2017 ranked fourth in all of college football.
McElwain was released after the 2017 season and the Gators poached Dan Mullen from Mississippi State to replace him.
McElwain joined Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Michigan to coach receivers and he’ll likely call plays on offense. Probably good that he’s landlocked.
In spite of firing Les Miles four games into the season and finishing with an 8-4 record in 2016, LSU brought in the fifth-highest total revenue in the conference and the eighth-highest number nationwide.
LSU is entering 2018 with a third different offensive coordinator in three years. Head coach Ed Orgeron was able to turn things around after a discouraging start to 2017. Looking at the 2018 LSU team, there are more question marks than on any other team in recent memory. Orgeron’s buyout, which was $12 million last season, drops to $8.5 million this season. The GoFundMe page that fans created last season to pay for his buyout fell short of its $12 million goal but with the reduced buyout in 2018, it’s only $8.5 million short.
At some point in the next season or two, LSU is going to have to buy out Orgeron’s contract which is going to cut dramatically into their profit margin. But between the Tigers’ neutral site season opener against Wisconsin, eight home games, and a Citrus Bowl win over Louisville in 2016, the program’s revenue minus expenses created a $56.1 profit margin, one of the highest in all of college football.