It’s getting expensive to stay in college football arms race

One year removed from playing for the national college football championship, Washington is flinching a bit about the daunting task of entering the arms race that is the Big Ten.

That’s kind of amazing.

But in a season when Texas and Oklahoma will get a taste of the SEC and BYU and Utah will enjoy joint membership in the Big 12, there’s a reminder of the costs and investment going into big boy college football these days.

Speaking at Big Ten football media days, UW coach Jedd Fisch told reporters Washington’s NIL offering to athletes through collectives was about 30% of what Ohio State is said to have spent, some $20 million a year.

“We did all the coaches’ offices, all the meeting rooms, team room,” Fisch is quoted in a column by Chris Caple of Onmontlake.com . “We’re building a recovery lounge. We’re building a barbershop. We’re redoing the locker room. So we had a substantial investment in our facilities, and I think that’s critical for us to keep up. You can have one of the three best facilities in the the Pac-12, and all of a sudden have the 17th facility in the Big Ten.

“When you recruit against Ohio State and Oregon, Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin and you see the commitment they’re putting towards their facilities — USC is building a brand new facility right now, Oregon’s facility as we all know it, Michigan’s building a brand new facility, renovation — we had to step up and do the same.”

Good luck, coach.

In Austin, the University of Texas reportedly spent $2.3 million on a party to celebrate entrance into the SEC. Those costs included $889,000 directly to the coffers of the school’s athletic department, with another $339,000 earmarked for advertising, according to Sportico through an open records request.

Texas will fit right into the SEC money train mindset.

At the University of Tennessee, there’s a Neyland Stadium district right on the nearby picturesque riverfront near the famed stadium in Knoxville. The university is investing in an upgrade for that area for fans and visitors.

The tweak includes a proposed 240-room hotel with 60 additional condos, a 175,000 square foot entertainment district with retail, restaurants, a rooftop restaurant, conference center, pool and terrace.

The arms race extends into BYU and Utah’s home in the Big 12 — an article by Darian Kelly in Business College Sports reported on multiple up-and-coming construction projects in league territory.

Oklahoma State has announced its $325 million Athletics Vision Plan .

The project includes an indoor track, new basketball training center, football operations center, wrestling training facility, softball stadium and upgrades to Karsten Creek Golf Course and Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center.

Also, OSU has converted Boone Pickens Stadium and Gallagher-Iba Arena into academic centers, mental health centers, and career development spaces for student-athletes.

TCU athletics have planned a $10 million lead gift from the Jane & John Justin Foundation to renovate the Bob Lilly Performance Center , to build a new Football Performance Center and construct a Restoration and Wellness Center.

At UCF and Houston, entrance into the Big 12 has motivated the schools to upgrade facilities.

Houston has plans already in the works. While TDECU Stadium is only 10 years old, construction is well underway on a new football operations center — it comes with a $130 million price tag and is expected to open in 2025 — and the 40,000-seat stadium was designed to expand as high as 60,000 capacity, per the school .

UCF called its efforts Mission XII , previously dubbed the Sharon & Marc Hagle Gateway.

The complex’s facilities are projected to include a new football locker room, weight room, training room, and coaches’ offices. Despite operating with deficits due to COVID, athletic director Terry Mohajir projected last year that the Knights would up their operating budget from $72 million to about $90 million during the school’s first year in the Big 12.

In conclusion, if you are paying more for tickets, this isn’t your grandpa’s college sports scene. Costs are going up. It’s a corporate world. Universities are squeezing ever drop of coin they can muster out of the games played.

Some, however, are more astute at spending it wisely than others.