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Best Big Ten Conference Men's Football Programs, Ranked by Operating Budget

A program's operating budget shows how much it spends to run the team day to day — from travel and equipment to coaching staff. Below, we've ranked all 14 Big Ten Conference men's Football programs by operating budget.

The average operating budget across Big Ten Conference men's Football programs is $7,780,461, with average recruiting spend around $1,028,338. Programs with larger budgets don't always offer more aid, but they tend to signal a higher level of institutional commitment.

Use this ranking to compare program spending, then read our guide on stacking athletic, academic, and need-based aid.

Programs
14
Avg. Op. Budget
$7,780,461
Avg. Recruiting
$1,028,338
Avg. Revenue
$91,220,107

Top programs

Showing 14 of 14 programs.

1. Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
University Park, PA
Operating Budget
$17,903,596
Recruiting
$1,121,873
Revenue
$120,244,417
2. Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ
Operating Budget
$10,340,635
Recruiting
$1,198,719
Revenue
$61,952,063
3. Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN
Operating Budget
$8,902,737
Recruiting
$932,179
Revenue
$61,330,602
4. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI
Operating Budget
$8,535,332
Recruiting
$1,010,816
Revenue
$149,104,336
5. Ohio State University-Main Campus
Columbus, OH
Operating Budget
$8,521,902
Recruiting
$794,888
Revenue
$111,646,810
6. Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN
Operating Budget
$7,603,839
Recruiting
$1,216,218
Revenue
$61,554,007
7. University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE
Operating Budget
$7,088,684
Recruiting
$1,426,274
Revenue
$126,225,245
8. University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI
Operating Budget
$7,056,460
Recruiting
$758,348
Revenue
$106,732,837
9. University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Operating Budget
$6,728,604
Recruiting
$786,227
Revenue
$91,827,582
10. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN
Operating Budget
$6,606,955
Recruiting
$1,145,679
Revenue
$90,671,593
11. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Operating Budget
$5,179,547
Recruiting
$1,392,596
Revenue
$68,645,674
12. Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Operating Budget
$5,159,869
Recruiting
$986,946
Revenue
$87,183,718
13. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Operating Budget
$4,687,158
Recruiting
$722,364
Revenue
$74,048,991
14. University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD
Operating Budget
$4,611,133
Recruiting
$903,606
Revenue
$65,913,616

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