The Southeastern Conference is widely regarded as the best in college football, and now there is another metric to prove it.
Every spring, the U.S. Department of Education publishes an Equity in Athletics Data Analysis, showing among other things how much money colleges and universities generate in sports. The most recent data accounts for fiscal year 2021, which lines up with the 2021-2022 academic year.
The DOE uses the term "revenue" as follows:
"All revenues attributable to intercollegiate athletic activities. This includes revenues from appearance guarantees and options, contributions from alumni and others, institutional royalties, signage and other sponsorships, sport camps, state or other government support, student activity fees, ticket and luxury box sales, and any other revenues attributable to intercollegiate athletic activities."
The SEC's 14 member institutions hauled in more than $1.13 billion during the 2021 season, which featured 13 teams in bowls and two in the national championship game.
The Big Ten was a close second, not even $4 million behind, but neither of the other three Power Five Conferences exceeded $750 million.
Here is how the 14 SEC schools stacked up against one another:
14. Vanderbilt: $33,582,944
After another in a long line of lousy seasons, it is no surprise the Commodores bring up the rear on this list.
Vanderbilt finished 2-10 on the season, its second straight without an SEC win. It was the only one of the 14 universities to generate less money than it did during the COVID-19-plagued 2020 season.
Among regular years, however, the program did haul in the most revenue since 2003, which is as far back as the data analysis goes.
13. Missouri: $35,849,783
2021 was hardly a banner year for the Tigers, but it did mark their second bowl selection in as many years under head coach Eliah Drinkwitz.
Missouri's revenue dipped from nearly $38.5 million in 2018, the last season in which it finished above .500. With the firing of Barry Odom, who went on to serve as Arkansas defensive coordinator for three years, and the pandemic, it was not until 2021 until that number began trending up.
Since joining the SEC, only 2018 and 2014, when they won the Eastern Division, have generated more than the 2021 mark.
12. Kentucky: $37,680,136
Relative to years past, 2021 was a disappointing season for Kentucky considering the on-field product.
The Wildcats notched their second 10-win season under head coach Mark Stoops, who took over in 2013, yet the revenue they produced was the lowest since 2016, pandemic excluded.
Kentucky had a three-year stretch beginning in 2017 in which it cleared $40 million a season, but not even a 6-0 start and a New Year's Day bowl victory could get the program back over that threshold.
11. Mississippi State: $40,683,223
With the pandemic in the rearview mirror and a year of SEC experience under head coach Mike Leach's belt, 2021 was a huge success for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State rode a 7-5 regular season record to a Liberty Bowl appearance, accumulating more than $40 million for the first time in the 19 years of available Equity in Athletics data.
Even though it was a notable achievement for the university and its football team, it hardly compares to the conference's top 10 moneymakers.
10. South Carolina: $63,834,042
2021 marked the fifth straight "regular" season in which the Gamecocks racked up more the $60 million in revenue, but that number was the lowest since 2016.
Between the pandemic limiting attendance and Will Muschamp's nightmarish fifth season in 2020, Shane Beamer had his work cut out for him in his first season.
South Carolina players and fans alike took to "Beamer Ball," and the result was a 7-6 season that culminated in a Mayo Bowl victory that set the program up for an even more successful 2022.
9. Ole Miss: $73,774,406
Even before things got back to normal in 2021, the Lane Kiffin effect was noticeable when he took the reins in 2020.
Aside from Vanderbilt, which generated more money in the pandemic season than it did in 2019, Ole Miss' revenue decline between those two years was the smallest in the conference.
A 10-win regular season in Kiffin's second year grossed the most money in the history of the data analysis, topping the previous mark of $62.7 million, set in 2016 — Hugh Freeze's final season.
8. Texas A&M: $81,545,748
Year four of the Jimbo Fisher era in College Station, Texas, was not the most successful in terms of record, but it was when it comes to revenue.
Only Kevin Sumlin's last year — 2017 — produced a larger amount. Aside from 2020, it was the Aggies' sixth consecutive season clearing $70 million and the ninth straight with more than $55 million, even with 2020 in the mix.
As Arkansas fans may remember, it was also the first time the Razorbacks defeated Texas A&M in 10 years.
7. Arkansas: $84,562,640
Easily the most successful season in recent memory, 2021 also yielded the highest revenue for Arkansas since the DOE began tracking it in 2003.
The promise of a new head coach previously established that mark at about $76.5 million in 2018, but that quickly faded and dropped off even further when COVID-19 hit.
The Sam Pittman fever amounted numerous program firsts since 2011, and it was contagious enough to land the Razorbacks in the top half of the SEC revenue rankings.
6. Florida: $93,206,919
The Gators felt the effects of the pandemic more than most teams, bringing in only a little over half of what they did in 2019.
Even though Dan Mullen's tenure came to an unceremonious end before Florida could finish 6-7, he and his Gators almost completely rebounded to the $94.9 million mark they set in 2019.
2021 was far and away the second highest-grossing season for Florida, building on five consecutive "regular" seasons above $80 million, beginning in 2015.
5. LSU: $95,453,836
On the topic of schools that struggled through COVID-19, perhaps no one got hit harder than the 2019 national champions.
After a record-setting $95 million in their undefeated season, the Tigers posted $38.8 million in revenue during the abbreviated 2020 campaign — the worst mark since 2003.
Even though head coach Ed Orgeron was in the twilight of his tenure on the bayou, LSU surpassed its perfect 2019 season by a few hundred thousand dollars in 2021, cracking $90 million for the third time in four years.
4. Tennessee: $100,982,596
2021 was not the Volunteers' highest-grossing season of all time, but it did mark a return to nine figures for the first time since 2016.
Tennessee collected nine wins and more than $107 million twice in head coach Butch Jones' last two full seasons, but his mid-2017 firing ushered a dip into the $90 million range for the next three years.
Fresh out of the pandemic and with renewed belief in Josh Heupel at the helm, the Vols made it back to a bowl game and into some pretty exclusive company as one of nine Power Five schools to generate $100 million in 2021.
3. Auburn: $106,726,055
The end of Gus Malzahn's eight-year tenure on the Plains signaled what fans thought would be a new era of Auburn football beginning in 2021.
The Tigers more than doubled their revenue for 2020, finally breaking the $100 million plateau after five seasons of knocking on the door before the pandemic,
Although Bryan Harsin turned out to be false hope in a way Arkansas fans know all too well, the first of his two seasons generated a very respectable amount for Auburn.
2. Alabama: $127,603,129
Fresh off the sixth national title of the Nick Saban era, the Crimson Tide was one of five Power Five programs to haul in more than $125 million in 2021.
That number was more than twice what it was in 2020 thanks to COVID-19, but it was also a 16% increase from pre-pandemic levels.
Only Kiffin was able to foster a bigger spike at Ole Miss, but one other school achieved a similar jump — that team that had Alabama's number at the end of the season.
1. Georgia: $155,951,449
The first of two consecutive national championship seasons in Athens achieved something only Texas was able to match: generate $150 million.
When head coach Kirby Smart took over in 2016, Georgia set a school record of $93.3 million in revenue.
The machine of consistency he has created since then led to more than $85 million despite the pandemic in 2020 and upwards of $123 million in each of his other seasons.
