OU athletics had an approximately $43.7 million deficit in the 2025 fiscal year, having not received its full revenue share from the SEC.<\/p>\n
On Friday, SoonerScoop obtained Oklahoma\u2019s full financial report for the 2025 fiscal year, covering July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. That\u2019s important to note, as the numbers reflected below are from the 2024 football season. <\/p>\n
OU athletics director Joe Castiglione also sent a letter to fans on Friday explaining why the Sooners had a $43.7 million deficit. As Castiglione explained in his letter, OU only received $12.5 million of the SEC\u2019s revenue share due to it being the school\u2019s first year in the conference. That is $47 million less than Oklahoma would have received and will receive in the future. Similarly, Texas reported a $23.3 million deficit<\/a> due to the move to the SEC. Texas\u2019s fiscal year begins in August and ends in July. <\/p>\n \u201cThe most significant factor contributing to the FY25 deficit was a one-time reduction in our conference distributions,\u201d Castiglione said in his letter to fans. \u201cOur decision to leave the Big 12 one year early required a short-term financial sacrifice in anticipation of higher revenues and long-term benefits that will follow as an SEC member. In FY25, OU received $12.5 million in conference distributions, which is $47 million less than our SEC full-share peers who received approximately $60 million each. Our early entry to the SEC was a strategic one, and one that we planned for years in advance. Thanks to decades of careful reserve building, we were able to cover it, and we expect our full SEC shares \u2013 beginning this year \u2013 will more than make up for the short-term gap.\u201d<\/p>\n