- A new Gardner Policy Institute study found Utah’s Division I athletic programs generate hundreds of millions of dollars.
- The report shows college sports offer more than financial returns, highlighting social capital and community cohesion.
- As college sports enter a new era, Utah schools are adapting while preserving social and academic benefits.
It’s no secret that Division I college athletics in Utah are a pretty big deal, driven by thousands of premier athletes across two dozen sports that generate tens of millions in ticket sales and hundreds of million dollars in revenue every year.
But for the first time, an expansive study conducted by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute has captured the depth and breadth of big-time college sports’ impacts, and the benefits stretch far beyond the financial tallies.
Gardner Institute director Natalie Gochnour said the report, “Contributions of College Sports in Utah”, was over a year in the making and represents a first-of-its-kind analysis that arrives in the midst of swirling debate and narratives focused on the business of college athletics.
Gochnour underscored that while the athletic portfolios among Utah’s six public schools that participate in Division I competition is an economic powerhouse, there are numerous, and harder to measure, factors that provide benefits across the state.
Gochnour shared a quote from Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” to help illustrate her point: “Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
“College sports is more than dollars and cents,” Gochnour said. “They’re also about social capital and the amenities they bring to our community to have fun and participate in shared experiences.”
University of Utah President Taylor Randall echoed Gochnour’s sentiments about the report’s findings, noting college sports are a “unifying force” that can elevate student success while bolstering social capital and enhancing Utah’s national visibility and reputation.
“It is an amazing experience to sit in a women’s gymnastics meet and look out in the crowd and see grade-schoolers with painted faces and families cheering,” Randall said. “It’s why we invest and care about college athletics.”
Utah college sports by the numbers
While Utah leaders underscore the community-building aspects of college sports, the report uncovers the profound economic impacts that Division I athletics bring to the state.
The six public schools covered by the report are the University of Utah; Utah State University; Utah Valley University; Weber State University; Southern Utah University, and Utah Tech University. While Brigham Young University wasn’t part of the study, Gardner researchers note the school’s Division I athletic program also contributes in meaningful ways to its university and the community.
Gardner analysts estimate that in 2024 the Utah schools’ 2,100 athletes participating in 24 NCAA Division I sports generated $19 million in ticket sales for events and athletic activities contributed $409 million in economic output, $229 million in gross domestic product and over 3,000 jobs to the Utah economy.
The report finds the economic contributions of each school reflect the amount of spending associated with each athletic department.
At 51.8% and 1,564 jobs, the University of Utah represents approximately half of the total sports-related contribution in jobs, followed by USU at 18.1%, 548 jobs, UVU at 10.8%, 326 jobs, Weber State at 7.3%, 220 jobs, SUU at 6.2%, 187 jobs and Utah Tech University at 5.9%, 177 jobs.
Researchers found that Utah’s Division I schools fall into three tiers based on size and economic impacts. Revenue tallies at the University of Utah in 2024 reached $109.8 million with $55.8 million at USU and between $17.7 and $18.8 million at the other four schools.
Media deals matter for universities
The report found the University of Utah total athletic revenues represent close to half of total athletic revenues for all six schools combined. It reflects, in part, fan base and conference affiliation differences and conference-associated media deals and distributions to schools.
While the university earned some $23 million as part of the Pac-12’s media deal, a Power Five conference at the time, the next highest media amount went to USU, $3.4 million as part of its affiliation with the Mountain West Conference, a non–Power Five league. About $6.2 million of the University of Utah’s $10.5 million in distributions came from the Pac-12, compared with $2.2 million of USU’s $3.8 million in distributions coming from its conference.
So how many fans do college sports attract?
Nielsen Media Research estimates that fans across the U.S. collectively watched 2.5 billion hours of college football in 2024, according to the report. Nearly 250 million viewers watched Big 12 football games, currently the conference home of the University of Utah and BYU and 40 million watched Mountain West games, USU’s current conference. Utah’s six public universities collectively sold over 1.4 million tickets to Division I athletic events in fiscal year 2024, generating nearly $19 million in revenue.
And all that attention counts for more than just advertiser dollars.
Randall said his school’s move to the Pac 12 in 2011 and subsequent back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances by the Utes in 2022 and 2023 led to substantial increases in prospective student application volume. The migration to the Big 12 last year has been “spectacular” in terms of reputational lifts, Randall said, and the move has provided new exposure in different areas of the country.
Gardner’s director of economic research, Nate Lloyd, noted a more recent example of the power of media exposure in a Deseret News interview. Lloyd said the Fox Sports Big Noon Kickoff game in September between the University of Utah and Texas Tech generated between $1.8 million and $3.5 million in earned media value for the school.
What do college athletics programs cost?
The report notes athletic program expenditures at Utah’s Division I schools function as a major marketing budget and drive revenues through ticket and merchandise sales, broadcast media deals and donations. Successful coaches serve as a key ingredient for a successful program and in a competitive market garner relatively high salaries for top-tier talent, per the report. Coaching salaries consistently represent about one-fifth of athletic departments’ expenses, 22% overall, followed by student aid, 16% and support staff/administrative compensation at 15%. Football coaches account for 47% of total coaching compensation across all sports.
Randall highlighted the importance of strong coaching, noting that “because we’re interacting with an age group that’s in incredible development, coaching talent is extremely important.”
While acknowledging the pressure of escalating salaries, he added, “We don’t want to underpay but we certainly know the challenges of overpaying. (Coaches) do more than just putting winning teams on the field.”
How much do college athletes get?
Nearly 2,100 students in Utah had the opportunity to access and finance higher education in 2023–2024 because of sports, according to the report. Research by the NCAA shows that 15% of Division I athletes in the U.S. are first-generation college students.
Collectively, athletes at Utah’s six Division I schools received $41 million in scholarships during the 2023–2024 academic year to help fund their educations. In some cases, the report notes, the university covers the scholarship costs and in others the athletic department pays for the aid. Overall, it’s a mix of the two scenarios with the ratio differing across schools. Athletic aid can cover tuition, fees and room and board. Maximum per-student limits vary by school and not every athlete receives aid covering all expenses.
While some research has found participation in college sports can bring down athletes’ grade point averages, Utah colleges offer support through academic advisors, tutors, study hall times and other resources to help them excel in their academic pursuits and ultimately attain their degree.
Athletes at the schools in the study achieved an average GPA of at least 3.32 for the 2023–2024 school year. Weber State athletes had the highest overall GPA, 3.56, that year. When parsed by sport, Weber State’s women’s cross-country team achieved the highest average GPA of any team statewide with a 3.90. University of Utah women’s cross-country ,USU’s men’s cross-country and women’s tennis players at Weber State tied for the next highest sport-specific GPA with 3.84.
A fast-changing college sports landscape
Utah’s Division I schools are facing the same challenges as their national counterparts when it comes to a shifting operational landscape fueled by ongoing conference realignments and profound changes to third-party and direct-from-their-schools compensation for athletes.
A 2024 settlement between the NCAA and Power Five conferences and former college athletes, worth $2.8 billion, touched off a new era for systems designed to funnel remuneration to athletes, including the establishment of a revenue-sharing model. The settlement creates a formula to allow schools to share up to 22% of the average Power Five media, ticket and sponsorship revenues directly with their athletes. The formula amounts to $20.5 million per school during the 2025–2026 school year. However, the report notes the settlement does not resolve issues such as the employment status of athletes or their collective bargaining rights, ensuring additional changes in college sports in the foreseeable future.
Randall noted further changes are imminent with unresolved issues being considered in current proposals before federal legislators even as his school takes a proactive stance to adjusting to new compensation systems.
“As I think about what is going on in Congress right now, there are a set of bills that will give certainty around a number of these rules,” Randall said.
The University of Utah is not alone in that effort as the other five schools in the study plan to participate in revenue sharing with their athletes despite the inability of most of them to reach the maximum revenue-sharing amount, at least initially, according to the report.
How college athletics help build community bonds
The report highlights how college athletics contribute to social capital by enhancing a sense of connection among students, staff, faculty, alumni and the community. For many, this connection extends over many years and even a lifetime. The network of support facilitates future career opportunities, volunteerism, emotional and physical well-being, business connections and other benefits. The benefits of social connection and cohesion extend far and wide.
The report references a Utah Foundation finding that “high levels of social capital are associated with better resource allocation and social cohesion, accelerated economic development and mobility, improved education and health outcomes, stronger community engagement and disaster resilience and reduced reliance on government services.”
A Utah Foundation report, released last month, determined Utah leads the nation on the Social Capital Index, nearly doubling the score of the next highest state, Wyoming.
Gochnour said sports create “networks of connection, communication and lived experience,” and offered an example. “You go to a University of Utah women’s soccer match and have a conversation on the sidelines that leads to a new business opportunity — that’s social capital.”
While the report details the expansive economic impacts of Utah college sports, Randall said the big takeaway is how it underscores the civic value of athletics.
“It’s not hard to see the important role of college sports in community building … people of all shapes and sizes cheering for a common cause," Randall said. “It brings us together and adds to social mobility and the social cohesion of our communities. And it matters as much in Salt Lake City as it does in Cedar City or Logan or Ephraim.”