The Pac-12 said Friday it paid $32.2 million to each of its schools in pre-pandemic 2018-19, an increase of nine percent from the previous year but still fourth overall among major conferences.
The conference said it had total revenues of $530 million and distributions to schools totaling $387 million, with the revenues increasing seven percent from 2017-18. That year, the Pac-12 reported revenues of $497 million and total distributions of $354 million, or $29.5 million per school.
In comparison, the SEC distributed an average of about $45.3 million to each of its schools in 2018-19, according to USA Today, while the San Jose Mercury News estimated the Big Ten paid $56 million per school in 2018-19. The Big 12 announced it is distributing $33.8 million, the third-largest conference payout to schools, while the Pac-12 was fourth with $32.2 million.
(The Mercury News said the Pac-12 actually paid out $31.3 million to schools in 2017-18, suggesting an increase of only 2.9% for 2018-19, possibly because money held in reserves was also paid to schools in 2017-18).
The Pac-12 also said combined expenses between the Pac-12 Networks and conference operations decreased 6%, although the Mercury News said conference operating expenses actually rose from $39.9 to $41.7 million. Expenses on the Pac-12 Networks side decreased 10 percent but the Mercury News said that was partly due to drops in depreciation costs and legal fees.
Overall, the Pac-12 said distributions to schools have increased 70% since its $2.7 billion media rights deal with ESPN and Fox went into effect for the 2012-13 season. That translates to a compounded annual growth rate of 9% in distributions to schools.
