SportsBusiness Journal recently examined the athletic budgets of BCS schools:
A majority of schools have increased their budgets by double-digit percentages from fiscal years 2010 to 2012, according to information obtained by SportsBusiness Journal from schools in the six major conferences.
Of the 52 schools that provided annual budgets, 30 have increased their spending by 10 percent or more in the last three years. Seventeen of them, or a third, have increased spending by 15 percent or more.
Included in the article is a breakdown by conference. The money in the SEC, outside of the Mississippi schools, is insane--the median budget is north of $90 million. In the ACC, the median is about $60 million, and NC State's budget for the fiscal year 2012 is about $56 million. That figure puts State near the bottom of the league, but it is at least comparable to most of the schools that provided data. And it represents an increase of $11 million from the 2010 budget.