BYU’s ramp up to the Big 12 officially started 18 months ago when outgoing commissioner Bob Bowlsby ushered the Cougars into the fold along with three other schools.
Since then, Houston, BYU, UCF and Cincinnati have been adding resources to get up to a Power Five level. Some of the key areas include staffing upgrades, an increased salary pool for football assistants and facility updates.
So as July 1 hits — and BYU is officially admitted into the Power Five — where does it stand in these areas compared with the other newcomers?
In some cases, it can be hard to pinpoint. BYU is a private institution and its budgets and salaries are not publicly available like UH, UCF and UC. But here is a general outlook of where the Cougars sit and what they will be compared to.
Athletic department budget and staffing upgrades
The three schools entering the Big 12 from the American Athletic Conference have all seen an increase in their overall athletic department budget from 2021 to 2022 (the last time data was publicly reported).
Each of these schools also figure to have continued budget increases in the coming years as they get a boost in conference revenue going from the AAC to the Big 12. The AAC paid out around $7 million per school, according to USA Today. The Big 12, by the time each school becomes a full-share member, will pay out over $40 million.
BYU and all the incoming members will become full-share members in their third year with the conference.
Still, even without the conference money at the moment, the incoming members have increased their budgets.
At Houston, the budget totaled $78 million, according to The Athletic. That was a 16% increase from the previous year, according to the Houston Chronicle.
At UCF, the budget checked in $89.2 million. It was an increase of 30% from the last year, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
At Cincinnati, the athletic department budget was $83.3 million, good for a 34% increase, per the Sports Business Journal.
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said BYU will have a budget comparable to the other incoming schools.
“We feel like we are in a very good spot financially, resource-wise and personnel-wise heading into the Big 12,” he said in a statement. “We stack up very well compared to the other schools entering the conference with us in many ways, and in some areas we feel like we are even in a better spot than some of the existing conference members.”
BYU did tell The Tribune that the athletic department added 30 positions since being admitted to the Big 12. The football staff received 12 of those.
“We know we will continue to have our work cut our for us from a fundraising standpoint, ticketing standpoint and revenue-generation in general, to get to where we ultimately want to be, but with that, we have always done and will continue to do things differently here at BYU,” Holmoe said.
BYU’s exact numbers are not disclosed. However, the annual Equity in Athletics report does publish some numbers from athletic department budgets. They are not always exact, but they tend to give a ballpark.
For BYU, the equity report says BYU’s total operating revenue was $95.1 million. On that report, Houston checked in at $78.8 million. Cincinnati came in at $60 million. UCF reported $85 million.
Football salary pool
When BYU lured Jay Hill away from the head coaching position at Weber State to take a coordinator role this winter, it was viewed as a significant step.
Hill is making close to $1 million, according to sources, a significant increase in spending on BYU’s part.
But that will have to continue in the Big 12.
Houston has $6.5 million for a football salary pool, per the Houston Chronicle. UCF has $6.6 million, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Cincinnati, which just hired a new coaching staff, clocks in at $7.5 million, per Front Office Sports.
Beyond coaches, added resources also include the recruiting staff. Houston, for example, has seven people dedicated full-time to recruiting, according to The Athletic.
BYU has hired three full-time people to help with recruiting in the last 18 months, a school spokesperson said.
“Salary is a big thing, right?” associate athletic director David Almodova said. “Money is a big thing. And so being able to handle our coaches’ salaries, I think, was a very, very positive step in helping our football program.”
He acknowledged that the budget for the football coaches’ pool must continue to increase.
When asked if he felt BYU’s football salary pool was currently competitive with the rest of the conference he said, “I do.”
Facility upgrades
The debate between using money for facilities or NIL will continue. But the Big 12 has experienced a facility arms race recently.
UCF in recent months has been attempting to raise $176 million for a number of upgrades for a student-athlete village, a football operations building and other renovations to the stadium, the school announced.
Houston has also targeted a football-only building to be built by 2025. The price is currently $140 million. This is on top of starting upgrades to the football stadium, the school announced.
Cincinnati is looking for a new indoor practice facility in the range of $136 million. It is also wanting another $10 million for locker room upgrades, the school announced.
BYU says it is still looking at options for facility updates. However, Holmoe indicated he would not be rushed into making those decisions just because the other incoming schools are making upgrades.
“We won’t do that at BYU,” he said. “It’s just not our style. It’s not the manner in which to go about our business.”
Last year, BYU added a terrace in one end zone for corporate sponsors. It updated “Club 22,” a luxury sponsorship area on the concourse.
The football offices are also getting a new meeting room for the defensive staff, new position rooms and updated “war rooms” for the offensive and defensive staff.
