Missouri’s move from the Big 12 to the SEC appears to have paid off, literally. For the first time since 2009, Missouri recorded a fiscal surplus in athletics, and football was a big factor in that. The Kansas City Star reports the University of Missouri reported a 50 percent increase in operating revenue to the NCAA, with a total of $76.3 million reported in 2103 compared to $50.7 million in 2012. That number could look better next year after Missouri recorded a school record for football revenue in 2013, with a revenue of $31.9 million and a surplus of $14.5 million reported.

Part of the reason for the big jump is the low NCAA and conference revenue earned in 2012 while moving from the Big 12 to the SEC. Missouri was not eligible for their Big 12 conference share as they announced plans to leave the conference. According to The Kansas City Star report, Missouri only received $1.81 million in NCAA and conference revenue in the 2012 fiscal year. Missouri received a conference share from the SEC reported to be $21.1 million in the first year in the conference.

Keep in mind that these revenue numbers do not include any revenue from the previous football season because Missouri’s fiscal year ended June 30, 2013. Missouri’s football team clinched the SEC East and played in the SEC Championship Game and Cotton Bowl in the second football season in the new conference home. It figures the football revenue may see an increase because of that when the next fiscal year’s data is reported to the NCAA.

Missouri spent a reported $17.4 million on football this past season. That is the most the school has spent on football since 2009, as a member of the Big 12. The big difference is the increased revenue share earned by being a member of the SEC. Missouri reported a revenue of $31.9 million in 2013, nearly twice the amount from 2012 with no Big 12 revenues coming in. The most Missouri earned while in the Big 12 was $25.4 million in 2010. Missouri recorded a record football surplus of $11.6 million that year, a total that is roughly $3 million less than the 2013 revenue on record. Some of that has to do with increasing revenue shares around the country, but it also goes to show the benefit of moving to the SEC with a more lucrative television contract as well.

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