Add money, coach, and stir. (Add money, coach and stir?) Where’s that panda…
Who in the Big Ten could be the “next Indiana”?
This morning, as I read Matt Brown’s steady and vital reporting on money in college football, I got to thinking about Hoosiers’ meteoric rise in football, simultaneously explainable and completely inexplicable. Today’s article on the FY25 Big Ten athletic budget numbers, in particular, stood out:
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We won’t know about Northwestern and USC, private schools who don’t share that information with Brown. But largely, this information…tracks? Do you see any surprises theere?
Brown notes that Washington tumbled to 11th from 5th in 2024, and that UCLA shot out of the basement into 13th place, but that’s about it. The biggest and foam-at-the-mouthiest schools continue to rake it in, heads, shoulders, and millions above the rest.
It’s teams 12-16, though, who really have me curious—really, 13-18, because drop everyone down one slot to account for USC and add Northwestern into the cellar-dwellers. Who of that group ever breaks out, whether because of their own revenue limitations or the financial limitations of their NIL pool donors?
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One of the things Brown looks at in his piece—which you should subscribe to and read—is ticket sales, both in football and baseball (for comparison). There, interestingly, Purdue actually jumps out above the rest, partially in football but definitely in baseball.
Does that make Purdue a sleeping giant? Hardly. But I think we can close the book on the Rutgers-as-sleeping-giant era, given that not only are they the same slapdick operation they’ve always been, they’re running deficits in the tens of millions now. (Again, read Matt Brown.)
That leaves Minnesota, UCLA, Purdue, and Maryland. (And Northwestern, but whatever.)
Which of those four (five) schools do you think could take the next big leap?
UCLA should, in my mind, be best-positioned. They’ve followed the Indiana model almost to a T so far, hiring a hot James Madison coach. While their football stadium arrangement isn’t great—and they’re…working on that?—Bob Chesney could inherit a situation ripe for a turnaround. But do the Bruins have the NIL donors ready to keep splashing cash on the program to make that happen?
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It’s the potential money that was supposed to lift Maryland all those years ago, with UnderArmour in their corner. But that hasn’t materialized for the Terrapins, and another year of Mike Locksley…well…
I don’t know what Purdue is supposed to do in all of this. Be a good basketball school and make its way to 6-6 every once in a blue moon? Barry Odom should be a better coach than what I saw in 2025, and maybe the Boilers are primed for a breakout only they can see coming. I wasn’t wowed by their efforts in the transfer portal, though (we’re rolling with Ryan Browne, huh?), and the Boilers have a tricky schedule next season (Wake and Notre Dame in the non-con). NIL and financial resources? Uh…
…and hey, speaking of penny-pinching budget-hawks who don’t perform, it’s PJ Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers, they of the glittery Outback Bowl trophy and a bunch of also-ran participation medals and mayo-dumps. Drake Lindsey’s back at quarterback, continuing to answer the question “What if Dylan Raiola played at a shittier program?” while Fleck touts that academicathleticsocialspiritual success.
To review, Minnesota went 8-5, including an 0-5 record on the road. The only player of note they lost in the transfer portal were Koi Perich (Oregon) and Fame Ijeboi (Purdue)—of course, that may also suggest there wasn’t much noteworthy talent to begin with. The ceiling appears to be “Iowa” for the Gophers; of course, it’s an aluminum ceiling that Fleck has had a decade to pierce already—and Iowa actually goes to Big Ten championships and bowl games.
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Assuming Minnesota ever moved on from Fleck, would they be the sleeping giant? They’ve got an on-campus stadium and some far-off footballing success to fall back on. But in a pro sports-dominated media market, I don’t know if there’s the oxygen or the donor pool for the Gophers, either. This probably limits UCLA, too. Maybe even Maryland.
That leaves us with Purdue.
So maybe we just let the sleeping giants lie for a while?
Or, you tell me: who’s the next also-ran to make an Indiana-esque jump?
