re: Reality check for expelling LSU from the SEC...be careful what you ask for.

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1. The Financial Engine of the Conference Record Profits:

During the 2025 fiscal year, the LSU athletic department generated a staggering $223.4 million in total revenue.Football Dominance: LSU Football acts as the primary rainmaker, posting a record $66.8 million net profit (off $117.5 million in standalone football revenue). This massive cash flow heavily subsidizes the rest of the conference's revenue pool and lower-earning institutional sports.

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There is one rather large problem with this argument: approximately $69.5 million—or 31%—of LSU’s reported $223.4 million in athletic revenue came from media-rights, bowl and other conference distributions. That money was paid to LSU largely because it is a member of the SEC, and it is already included in the $223.4 million figure.

Subtract that $69.5 million, and LSU’s remaining revenue falls to approximately $153.9 million. LSU reported $219.6 million in expenses and finished the year with a respectable $3.81 million surplus. Without that conference-generated revenue—and assuming no replacement revenue or spending cuts—that surplus would become approximately a $65.7 million deficit.

The claim that LSU’s football profit “heavily subsidizes the rest of the conference’s revenue pool” is simply false. LSU football helps subsidize LSU’s own non-revenue sports. Its operating profit is not deposited into an SEC fund and distributed to other universities. In reality, the SEC distributed approximately $70 million in conference-generated revenue to LSU.

The Big Ten is probably the only other conference financially capable of coming close to replacing LSU’s current SEC distribution. Even then, LSU would need an invitation and an immediate full revenue share—neither of which is guaranteed. An ACC or Big 12 payout would likely leave LSU approximately $20–27 million short annually, even before accounting for any decline in ticket sales, donations or sponsorships caused by losing its SEC schedule.

So LSU’s financial report does not demonstrate that LSU subsidizes the SEC. It demonstrates that a substantial portion of LSU’s athletic budget depends upon revenue generated and distributed by the SEC.