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Sunday, January 11, 2026

Pac-12 Revenue Topped Big 12 in Final Year of Power 5 Era

The Power 5 era ended nearly a year ago, but financial results are still trickling in from previous iterations of the biggest conferences.

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Financial results from the final season of the NCAA’s Power 5 era are in—and the Pac-12 notched one last small victory on its way out the door.

Despite Pac-12 revenue dipping roughly 6% to $566.6 million in the 2023–24 fiscal year, the conference was still able to top the Big 12, which saw its revenue fall by about 3% to $493.8 million. The conferences ranked fourth and fifth in revenue among the Power 5, which was also the case in the 2022–23 fiscal year.

FOS graphic

With the Big Ten ($928.1 million) surpassing the SEC ($839.7 million) in the race to $1 billion in annual revenue, the ACC finished a distant third place, bringing in $711.4 million last year.

The financial tides of college sports are changing after last summer’s unprecedented number of conference realignment moves, which saw the Big Ten and Big 12 add four teams, the ACC add three, and the SEC add two. The Pac-12 shrank to two teams and is still rebuilding for a relaunch in 2026.

Financial records for the 2024–25 fiscal year, the first season of the Power 4 era, will likely be released in Q2 of 2026 and provide more details on how realignment has impacted each conference’s business.

In March, Clemson, Florida State, and the ACC agreed to a settlement that ended four lawsuits threatening to break that conference apart.

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