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Who are richest and poorest Big Ten football programs?

The Big Ten is a partly socialist society. Except for the newest members (Rutgers, Maryland and Nebraska), each of the athletic programs receives about $32.4 million annually from external sources under the conference's current payout, including $21.5 million from joint broadcast rights and about $4 million from bowl games. Some schools aren't watched much and some rarely go to bowls. But the shares are evenly distributed except for the newbies who will be cut in fully in the next deal.

So, what does each Big Ten school make on its own? Specifically, what sort of money does each reap on gross revenue from football, the cash cow of all college sports? It's all listed on mandatory U.S. Department of Education filings and it's a wide disparity from lowest to highest. You might be stunned at how unequal the haves and have-nots would be if not for the collective TV deal, set to mushroom even more with the next contract signing in 2017, half of which will reportedly be dealt to Fox.

Here are the figures for what each Big Ten school does on its own, its gross football revenue earnings during the last fiscal year available (July 2014-June 2015), ranked from poorest to richest.

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Penn State cornerback Jordan Lucas stiff-arms Purdue wide receiver Danny Anthrop after intercepting pass during the second quarter of 2013 game at Beaver Stadium.

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14. Purdue: $17.1 million

Purdue’s football program has endured a quadruple whammy lately: 1. Being a “basketball school;” 2. Enduring tough times on the field since the retirement of miracle worker Joe Tiller; 3. Being in the less-attractive West division; 4. The lack of panache of dreary 92-year-old Ross-Ade Stadium, last extensively renovated in 2002. The result: The lowest paid home attendance in the Big Ten during the 2014 season (the one applicable to the last available fiscal report): 35,269. After expenses, Boilermaker football netted less than $1.5 million in profit during fiscal 2014-15, also a league low. The men’s basketball program actually turned a larger profit (almost $3 million).

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Penn State's Trevor Williams (10) intercepts a pass from Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova during first quarter of the Lions' 13-10 win in New Jersey in 2014.

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13. Rutgers: $26.9 million

Rutgers will begin reaping the benefits of Big Ten membership in the next few years both through a full-share of the new TV deal and on the field – if its product ever improves and its dysfunctional clown posse of an athletic department finally stabilizes under new AD Patrick Hobbs. For now, its football program is at the back end of the league despite an inviting new-ish stadium and resilient fans. Rutgers football cleared only about $6.8 million in profit during fiscal 2014-15.

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Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) dives between Indiana defenders for the goal line during Lions' 29-7 win last year at Beaver Stadium.

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12. Indiana: $27.5 million

Indiana is Penn State’s reverse doppelganger – a major basketball brand whose football program is constantly trying to be noticed among a populace that doesn’t much care. As a Power Five revenue model, it is a complete outlier; its men’s basketball program very nearly earned as much gross revenue ($24 million) last fiscal year as football. That just does not happen in major-conference athletics. The football program did manage to cut a $9.5 million profit.

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Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) throws as Illinois defensive lineman Chunky Clements (11) defends during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 31. Penn State shut out Illinois, 39-0.

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11. Illinois: $30.8 million

The Illini’s major problem has been much like Rutgers’ – a revolving door of coaches since reaching a competitive peak about a decade ago blended with dysfunctional leadership in the athletic department. What Illinois does have is a big stadium and a fan base that actually cares in fits and starts and remembers what a major bowl is. Revenue could see a spike if new coach Lovie Smith can get anything going at roomy old Memorial Stadium. But for now, UI football is getting by on about $12.5M profit last fiscal year.

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Maryland quarterback Perry Hills is sacked during fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Oct. 24 during Penn State's 31-30 win.



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10. Maryland: $30.9 million

The B1G’s other newbie has been called a sleeping college football giant because of its recruiting turf and the potentially deep pockets of prime sugar daddy and former Terrapin football player Kevin Plank (the Under Armour boss). The table certainly is set for success. Recently renovated and expanded Capital One Field (formerly Byrd Stadium) is a nice enough house, DC metro is loaded with population and a new coach with a clue in D.J. Durkin will target that fertile recruiting turf. But it’s been a tough slog up to now – just a $14.8M football profit last year.

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Northwestern place kicker Jack Mitchell tries a field goal during the first quarter at Beaver Stadium on September 27, 2014. Penn State fell to the Wildcats, 29-6.

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9. Northwestern: $31.7 million

Considering NU’s private-university profile, relatively tiny undergrad enrollment (8,357), a notoriously blasé fan base and legendarily outdated stadium, what’s been accomplished here from a revenue standpoint is remarkable. Wildcat football actually turned a $10.8M profit last fiscal year with the second-lowest paid attendance average in the league (38,316 in 2014 season). Who says 1-percenters can’t stretch a dollar?

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Minnesota running back David Cobb fights for yardage during the Gophers' 24-10 win over Penn State at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in 2013.

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8. Minnesota: $35.8 million

This entire athletic department is in transition. The men’s basketball coach is on the hottest of seats after player chaos off the court and failure on it. A brand new AD is taking over for one bounced for sexual harassment. And a former assistant is taking over the reins as head football coach – Tracy Claeys in place of resigned epileptic Jerry Kill. “The U” at least can admire its snazzy new on-campus outdoor stadium. But if lifelong right-hand-man Claeys can’t cut it in relief of the savvy Kill, this operation could go right back in the dumper. Under deposed AD Norwood Teague, the football program listed expenditures of $26.3M, a surprisingly high number relative to revenues collected.

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Wisconsin wide receiver Jared Abbrederis hauls in a pass in front of Penn State linebacker Nyeem Wartman during first quarter of PSU's 31-24 upset of Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium in 2013.

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7. Wisconsin: $44.8 million

Now, we get into the heavy hitters, the traditional winning programs with insatiable fan bases. It’s perhaps surprising that Bucky hasn’t made more off of football lately but consider that the program has hit something of a plateau since the surprising departure of Bret Bielema to Arkansas in 2012 and the abrupt ejection of Gary Andersen after just two seasons in late 2014. This report reflects that final season under Andersen in which the Badgers won the West but were drilled 59-0 by Ohio State in Indy. Wisconsin football made $18 million in profit that year.

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Iowa's James Vandenberg (16) throws against Penn State during Lions' 38-14 win in 2012.

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6. Iowa: $52.4 million

Hawkeye football is the only game in town – or the state. Other than Nebraska, it’s the only Big Ten school that has an entire state to itself without interference from any major-league professional teams. Kirk Ferentz’s football program made a $26.9M profit in fiscal 2014-15 which does not even account for its unbeaten regular season last year.

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5. Michigan State: $59.2 million

No Big Ten football program has made a longer leap upward in recent years than Michigan State and the ledger reflects as much. Under the shrewd direction of AD Mark Hollis, Sparty has maximized funding and Mark Dantonio has given him a product to pump. MSU football made a $21.5M profit in fiscal 2014-15 which, paired with $7.1M made by Tom Izzo’s hoops juggernaut, put Michigan State athletics on firm footing even before the conference’s broadcast rights payout.

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Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah runs during first quarter of Cornhuskers' 32-23 win over Penn State in Lincoln in 2012.

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4. Nebraska: $60.6 million

Part of what made Nebraska attractive to Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and the league’s presidents as a prospective new member in 2011 was its unique status as a regional football brand. Not only is there no major-league pro franchise in the state, there aren’t any in several contiguous states – all of which are sparsely populated but still filled with generations of Cornhusker football fans. You find them all over the northern and western Great Plains in Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas. That’s some powerful juice even in an age of urban centralization. Nebraska is one of only four B1G football programs that turned a >$30M profit in fiscal 2014-15 -- $31.4M to be exact.

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Penn State running back Zach Zwinak (28) rumbles for his second touchdown of the game during Lions' 48-7 win over Massachusetts in 2014.

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3. Penn State: $71.3 million

Even in down years, Penn State churns out $5M to $6M in profit on live gate alone at immense 107,000-seat Beaver Stadium. So, the whopping $36.2M profit during James Franklin’s first season is just another ho-hum year at PSU. What is notable is the $35.1M in football expenditures during that fiscal 2014-15; no other football program in the conference spent more. Ohio State, which played two extra games because of the 2014 Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff semifinal, was still second to PSU in football expenses at $32.6M.

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Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) attempts to flee pocket and evade Ohio State's Joey Bosa (97) during Buckeyes' win in October in Columbus.

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2. Ohio State: $83.5 million

Nothing like a national championship season to not only spin the turnstiles but also whir the cash registers of licensed merchandise vendors. OSU football had it all going in 2014-15 with its buzz through the Big Ten title game and inaugural College Football Playoff. Its net profit was a massive $51 million. Adding in the ample $15.1M profit of Thad Matta’s basketball program, Ohio State athletics netted $54.6M across the board even after accounting for money-losing “non-revenue” sports.

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Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock pays respects to Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg following Wolverines' 28-16 win at Beaver Stadium on Nov. 21.



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1. Michigan: $88.3 million

Revenue-obsessed Dave Brandon might have been chased out of Ann Arbor under the fire of various groups desirous of a more soulful athletic director. But his corporate-style leadership certainly left a ledger covered in black ink. Nobody siphoned more money out of a Big Ten football program than Michigan in his final year, whether you measure it by gross or net. After expenses, Wolverine football netted a staggering $56.6 million in fiscal 2014-15. And remember, that was the last squalid season of the Brady Hoke regime. Who knows what’s possible under the spell of Jim Harbaugh?

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