BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana athletic department reported a $10.4 surplus for the 2025 fiscal year.
The Herald-Times received a copy of the department’s annual financial report in response to an open-records request.
This year’s report includes the revenue IU received from the success the football team had in 2024 and the costs the university incurred from parting ways with former basketball coach Mike Woodson for the fiscal year running from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
How Indiana football brought in $80.9 million in revenue
Indiana football reported lower revenues in 2025 ($80.9 million) than the previous year ($89.3 million), but the school directed $26 million to the football program for 2024 with the majority of those funds going toward covering Tom Allen’s buyout.
When the football program didn’t receive any direct financial support in 2023, it reported $61.6 million in revenue.
The football team’s ticket sales jumped to $12.7 million for the 2025 fiscal year (up $2.7 million) and the media rights payment the school received jumped to $47.1 million (up nearly $10 million). The football team’s program, novelty, parking and concessions sales more than doubled to $3 million.
Indiana’s increased investment in football was highlighted by the $10.1 million it spent on Curt Cignetti’s coaching staff and the $4.7 million it spent on the team’s support staff. In Allen’s final year, IU spent $7.8 million on assistant coaching salaries and $2.8 million on support staff.
Indiana athletic department reports record revenue in 2025
As a department, IU athletics brought in a record $183.4 million in revenue — up $10 million from 2024 and up nearly $40 million from 2023 — while expenses were slightly down at $173 million from the previous year’s report ($176.6 million).
The department received $29.5 million from ticket sales, $25.8 million from contributions and $62.8 million in media rights. The media rights figure has climbed $15 million over the past two years. It also received $10.6 million in conference distributions for postseason generated revenue, up from $8.3 million in 2024.
Indiana’s basketball reported $51.1 million in revenue, up from $31 million in 2024, but much of that was related to the $18 million the program received in direct institutional support. It’s a large number directed at one sport, but the football team received similar support from the school in 2024 to cover the turnover on the coaching staff.
The athletic department’s operating expenses were down from 2024 with two areas — cuts in the department’s support staff/administrative spending and severance payments — accounting for much of the savings.
Indiana cut more than $5 million in support staff, administrative spending, benefits and bonuses for the department (non-program specific) and paid out far less in severance payments, from $22.1 million in 2024 to $8.5 million in 2025.
Those savings covered increased costs in other areas like having to spend $2.4 million on game expenses and $1.2 million more on student-athlete meals year over year.
The NCAA report doesn’t include any information about how Indiana distributed the $20.5 million it allocated for revenue-sharing. Scott Dolson, IU’s athletic director, previously told The Herald-Times that between 70-75% of those funds would go to the football program and 18% of the rev-share budget would be for men’s basketball.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana athletics reports record revenue for 2025 fiscal year
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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