While not the only determinant of success, investment plays a huge role in a school’s ability to compete for championships.
The C.L. Brown Show with U of L’s Jeff Brohm, Miller Moss, Chris Bell
The C.L. Brown Show hosts Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm, quarterback Miller Moss and receiver Chris Bell recorded on location at ACC Kickoff.
The Louisville Cardinals kick off their season Aug. 30 against Eastern Kentucky at L&N Stadium. Among U of L’s most prolific opponents in 2025 are Miami, Clemson, SMU and UK.Louisville’s proportion of football spending going toward head coach compensation ranked high among those on its schedule, behind only Kentucky.
College football is almost here.
The Louisville Cardinals kick off their season Aug. 30 against Eastern Kentucky at L&N Stadium. Among U of L’s most prolific opponents in 2025 are Miami (away), Clemson (home), SMU (away) and Kentucky (home). After falling short of a College Football Playoff bid in 2024, the Cards are approaching this season with big goals and big expectations.
While not the only determinant of success, investment plays a huge role in a school’s ability to compete for championships. The Courier Journal looked at how Louisville’s spending on football during the 2024 fiscal year compares with the Cards’ 2025 opponents.
Using data compiled by the USA TODAY Network in partnership with the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, The Courier Journal found Louisville’s proportion of spending on football ranked near the middle of the pack. The percentage of football spending used on recruiting also fell in the middle. But Louisville’s proportion of football spending going toward head coach compensation ranked high, behind only Kentucky, which paid Mark Stoops over $9 million during FY24.
Of note: Some schools differ in how they categorize spending. For example, upgrades to an arena or stadium may be attributed to the particular men’s or women’s team that plays there or they may be assigned a vaguer label, “not allocated by gender.” As such, some numbers may vary.
The 2023-24 fiscal year roughly correlates to the 2023-24 school year, which encompassed the 2023 football season.
Private universities are not required by law to share such documents, which is why Miami, Boston College and SMU aren’t included below. Pittsburgh is a public school but is not required to make its annual report available. The school is shielded from open-records disclosure by Pennsylvania state law.
Louisville football spending in FY2024 vs. 2025 opponents:
Clemson: $67,787,017 (37.3% of total athletics spending)Kentucky: $45,254,353 (23%)California: $45,082,236 (30.8%)Virginia Tech: $40,976,224 (30.9%)Louisville: $38,777,030 (23.5%)Virginia: $33,041,491 (22.7%)James Madison: $15,874,372 (20.8%)Bowling Green: $9,980,025 (31%)Eastern Kentucky: $6,046,805 (24%)
Head coaching compensation listed in NCAA financial reports includes “salaries, benefits and bonuses paid by the university and related entities.”
Louisville football head coach compensation in FY2024 vs. 2025 opponents:
Kentucky: $9,382,649 (20.7%)Louisville: $7,670,162 (19.8%)Clemson: $7,580,202 (11.2% of total football spending)California: $5,869,723 (13%)Virginia: $5,044,925 (15.3%)Virginia Tech: $4,533,018 (11.1%)James Madison: $930,344 (5.9%)Bowling Green: $778,557 (7.8%)Eastern Kentucky: $445,150 (7.4%)
Recruiting expenses listed in NCAA financial reports include “transportation, lodging and meals for prospective student-athletes and institutional personnel on official and unofficial visits, telephone call charges, postage and such.”
Louisville football recruiting spending in FY2024 vs. 2025 opponents:
Clemson: $3,129,469 (4.6% of total football spending)California: $1,794,272 (4%)Virginia: $1,352,476 (4.1%)Kentucky: $1,243,848 (2.7%)Virginia Tech: $1,241,690 (3%)Louisville: $1,197,741 (3.1%)Bowling Green: $417,479 (4.2%)James Madison: $386,295 (2.4%)Eastern Kentucky: $74,334 (1.2%)Week 1: vs. Eastern Kentucky, 3 p.m. Aug. 30Week 2: vs. James Madison, 7 p.m. Sept . 5Week 3: BYEWeek 4: vs. Bowling Green, TBA Sept. 20Week 5: at Pittsburgh, TBA Sept. 27Week 6: vs. Virginia, TBA Oct. 4Week 7: BYEWeek 8: at Miami, 7 p.m. Oct. 17 (Friday)Week 9: vs. Boston College, TBA Oct. 25Week 10: at Virginia Tech, TBA Nov. 1Week 11: vs. California, TBA Nov. 8Week 12: vs. Clemson, 8 p.m. Nov. 14Week 13: at SMU, TBA Nov. 22Week 14: vs. Kentucky, TBA Nov. 29
Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com, and follow her on X @petitus25.