U of Texas athletic department reports loss of $23 million in 2025

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The Texas athletic department reported a loss of roughly $23.3 million in the 2025 fiscal year, an outcome that university officials say they planned for amid the school’s move from the Big 12 to the SEC.

The Longhorns broke their own record for spending by one institution in a fiscal cycle, reporting nearly $376 million in expenses, according to documents obtained by the American-Statesman. The athletic department generated nearly $353 million in revenue, a total that topped last year’s reported revenue by about $21 million. The athletic department concluded fiscal year 2025 in a deficit because it did not receive a full share of revenue distribution from the SEC, according to Texas Chief Financial Officer Rob Novak.

That’s a result of an agreement Texas and Oklahoma struck with the SEC to join the league in 2024, a year earlier than originally planned.

Because of that, Novak said, Texas budgeted to make a loss of $47 million in 2025, and considers the $26 million it lost to be a positive outcome relative to its own expectations.

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Novak told the Statesman last January that he expected Texas to make a loss in the 2025 fiscal year. In the past three fiscal cycles, Texas banked a surplus of over $46 million to prepare its reserves for 2025. Novak said the athletic department still has over $30 million in reserve after its 2025 losses.

“It’s not Whack-A-Mole to balance a budget,” Novak said. “It’s, ‘What does this look like long-term? If we agree to do this today, can we sustain it? And if we can, what does that mean for revenue? Are the donors going to keep investing through donations? Is there going to be a market to increase ticket prices?’”

This year’s deficit was further complicated by the loss of revenue from the Longhorn Network, which handed over the rights to live events to ESPN following Texas’ move to the SEC.

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