Texas schools benefit from return of Big 12 championship game

Texas’ two Big 12 college sport programs surpassed $20m (€17.5m) in media-rights revenue for the 2017-18 academic year, with the return of the Big 12 championship game having boosted the accounts.

The SportsDay website reports that Texas Tech University posted $21.1m in media-rights revenue, with the University of Texas at Austin (UT) reporting $20.7m. It marks a significant increase on the previous year, when each school reported less than $17.6m.

American football revenue provided the majority of revenue, with UT’s Longhorns earning $18.5m. Tech’s Red Raiders American football team earned $15.4m.

SportsDay reported that Tech significantly outperformed UT in basketball revenue, picking up $5.7m compared to $1.6m.

The Big 12’s championship American football game was reintroduced during the 2017-18 academic year, which SportsDay noted generated some $30m in media-rights revenue for schools.