COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hopes its planned move to the SEC will quickly pay for itself with fatter TV contracts and more generous gifts from donors. The school also can expect to spend significantly more to keep pace.
U.S. Department of Education financial reports show 10 other schools in what eventually will be a 14-team Southeastern Conference spend more on intercollegiate athletics than Missouri does. Florida tops the SEC, spending nearly $113 million in the most recent academic year. That’s nearly double Missouri’s $58.9 million athletics budget.
Missouri also ranks 11th among current and future SEC schools in overall athletics revenue, bringing in $59 million in the 2010-11 academic year. Only Mississippi, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt earned less.
Missouri’s $861,859 annual recruiting budget is 12th among the 14 SEC schools. Tennessee tops that list at more than $2.29 million
