Each year, universities earn and spend a certain amount of money toward their athletic program, usually depending on the size and support of the school along with the success they’ve been experiencing as a whole.

According to a study by USA Today which examined the 2013-14 academic year, Oakland University possessed total revenue of $11,891,893 and total expenses of $11,537,425 from their athletics.

“Oakland athletics is committed to the principle of financial efficiency and responsibility. We collaborate with officials across the university quarterly in formal reports to make sure the athletics budget from a revenues and expenditures perspective is in line with expectations,” Director of Athletics Jeff Konya said.

As far as where these earnings and expenses are generated from, there are many contributing factors for the university.

“From a revenue perspective, our budget is primarily constructed through institutional allocations and external funding sources.,” Konya said, “The external funding sources include all kinds of things like donations, sponsorships, grants, ticket sales, merchandise sales and facility rentals.”

These funding sources are what fuels the fire for Oakland athletics. Donations and sales contribute greatly to the total revenue.

In addition, Oakland has a total subsidy of $9,340,386, which comes from  donations and helps level out the expenses while subsequently adding on to total revenue.

Compared to the total revenue of other Division I universities in the NCAA listed in the USA Today study, Oakland ranked at number 187, placing them at the lower-end of the middle. Oregon topped the list in revenue with a grand total of $196,030,398.

There are 230 schools on this list, though many of the Division I private schools, like the University of Notre Dame, are left out because they are not obligated to report earnings and expenses or participate in studies like these.

As for the total revenue of other universities around Michigan, the University of Michigan comes in at number three on the list ($157,899,820), followed by Michigan State at 18 ($104,677,456), Eastern Michigan at 81 ($30,081,523), Central Michigan at 86 ($29,281,777) and Western Michigan at 87 ($28,927,072).

In the Horizon League, schools ranged from $8,000,000 to upwards of $16,000,000 in revenue, putting Oakland’s annual budget near the median of the league.

“Oakland has made great strides since moving into the Horizon League. The early success has led to additional opportunities and strategic hires that will hopefully grow incoming revenue streams, which will add to the budget,” Senior Assistant Athletic Director of Public Relations Scott MacDonald said.

“We have great students that are very enthusiastic about athletics here at Oakland University and understand the importance of team spirit.”

Oakland currently ranks fourth in the conference in revenue behind Illinois-Chicago, Youngstown State, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and in front of Cleveland State, Wright State and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

To break it down further, Oakland has certain things that contribute more to spending and bringing in money than others – salaries and scholarships.

Oakland operates 18 sports, for which they have to employ coaches and staff. The university has about 350 student-athletes and is also responsible for operating Spirit programs.

“In terms of revenue generation, ticket sales, facility rentals, donations, and special events provide the ultimate backbone for bringing in external dollars. This is an area we need to grow in, and quite frankly, we have plans in motion to do just that,” Konya said.

“We have several naming opportunity campaigns ready to go, we are inclined to tweak our Golden Grizzlies Athletics fund and we want to increase our sponsorship base through more visible and interactive media presence and also look to increase planned giving to athletics. We want to increase external fundraising by 50 percent over and above what we do today by the end of 2017.”

Oakland is always looking to make  changes that will benefit the university’s revenue to expenses rate and bring in more money to use for certain projects while still keeping the student body happy.

Following a number of calculations, a given Oakland student spends around $450 of their tuition on Golden Grizzlies athletics, which is one of the lowest numbers out of all mid-major schools.

Students are also able to enjoy free admission into over 50 contests and sporting events.

Oakland continues to take steps in the right direction financially for their athletic department and the students play one of the biggest roles in this positive change.

“I love our Oakland students, and the way they embrace intercollegiate athletics is truly a great thing,” Konya said.

“They are going to see some amazing things this coming year from the Golden Grizzlies.”