UCF receives $8.8 million annual payout from AAC

Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel
·2 min read

UCF received $8.88 million in revenue from the American Athletic Conference.

According to the most recent 990 tax documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, the conference reported $183.24 million in total revenue for the 2021-22 fiscal year. It was a 94% increase from the previous year when the league posted $93,996,015 total revenue.

The increase can be attributed to several factors, including a surge in media rights money from $52.15 million in 2020-21 to $65.24 million in 2021-22.

Another significant source of income comes from $51.5 million in exit fees, with the Big 12-bound schools UCF, Cincinnati and Houston paying $18 million each for their early departures over the next several years. Additionally, the University of Connecticut is still paying its $17 million exit fee for leaving the AAC for the Big East in 2020.

In addition, the conference received $17 million in entry fees from six new teams joining in July: UAB, FAU, Charlotte, North Texas, Rice and UTSA.

In the latest fiscal year, the league received $37.96 million from postseason tournaments, which is more than the $33.69 million it received in the previous fiscal year.

There were four bowl-eligible teams from the AAC in the 2021-22 season, with Cincinnati making it to the College Football Playoff. The other three schools were UCF (Gasparilla Bowl), Houston (Birmingham Bowl), and Tulsa (Myrtle Beach Bowl). The league also benefited from revenue shares it received from the NCAA from the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, along with $6.45 million in NCAA sponsorships and grants.

The conference distributed $93.83 million of revenue to its 12 members with Cincinnati leading the way with $11.32 million, followed by Memphis ($8.97 million), UCF ($8.88 million), East Carolina ($8.29 million), Houston ($8.28 million), SMU ($8.28 million), Tulsa ($8.25 million), Temple ($7.74 million), Tulane ($7.63 million), South Florida ($7.71 million) and Navy ($6.26 million).

Wichita State, which joined the conference in 2017 as a full member in all sports except football, received an annual payout of $2.17 million.

The AAC posted $114.2 million in expenses during the last fiscal year, with the majority going to conference distributions. The other costs were officiating ($5.12 million), conference championships ($4.7 million), compensation for officers, directors and key employees ($3.08 million), salaries and wages ($2.37 million), and digital network production ($588,899).

Commissioner Mike Aresco made $2.08 million in compensation during the 2021-22 fiscal year, a slight increase from the $2.01 million he was paid the previous year.