Tennessee athletics raked in record $200 million in revenue, led by football. Here's how.

University of Tennessee athletics topped $200 million in revenue for the first time in school history in the 2022-23 fiscal year after a staggering explosion of growth.

It was an economic boom year for the Vols across the board.

Contributions almost doubled. Concessions and parking revenue rose 83%. Royalties, licensing, and sponsorships spiked 34%. Tickets sales increased 13%.

And that contributed to record revenues for the football program, which had its most successful season on the field in more than 20 years during this reporting period.

UT rapidly expanded its athletics budget years ahead of schedule.

But the best news is that revenue outpaced spending by $11.1 million. UT reported $202.1 million in revenue and $191 million in expenses.

That yielded the largest surplus since the 2014-15 fiscal year. And UT invested $8.4 million of this latest surplus into capital projects to continue its momentum.

The 2022-23 fiscal year ended June 30. Universities were required to submit their annual fiscal reports to the NCAA in January, and UT provided its report to Knox News.

Here are the key takeaways from UT athletics’ 80-page financial report.

How Tennessee's record revenues are four years ahead

The $202.1 million in revenue marked the largest total in school history by a wide margin. The previous record was $154.6 million in revenue in the 2021-22 fiscal year.

UT is four years ahead of schedule. Its strategic plan, released in July 2022, projected major increases in revenue, expenses and fundraising over five years. It called for the operating budget to eclipse $200 million in 2026-27.

UT’s expenses also rose sharply over the previous year from $157.1 million to $191 million. But money has been generated faster than it’s been spent.

“As we seek to build upon our championship tradition across all sports, generating new revenue is vital so we can invest back into our student-athletes, coaches and staff to give us as many competitive advantages as possible,” UT athletics director Danny White said in a school release.

“I continue to be amazed by the passion and support of Vol Nation. Reaching these new heights on Rocky Top provides a winning edge by generating resources for strategic investments in student-athletes, coaches and programmatic infrastructure."

UT football made more money than most athletic departments

In 2022, the Vols had their best football season since the 1998 national title run, and the ledger reflected that.

Football generated $134.9 million in revenue in the 2022-23 fiscal year, its highest total ever.

For perspective, only 29 schools reported at least $134 million in revenue for their entire athletic department in 2021-22. The Vols reached that mark in football alone as they posted an 11-2 record and won the Orange Bowl in coach Josh Heupel’s second season.

It was an enormous jump. In 2015-16, UT reported $109.6 million in football revenue. After the pandemic, football revenue rebounded to $99.1 million in 2021-22.

But in the ensuing year, football revenue rose by almost $36 million. Tickets sales, contributions, royalties, licensing and sponsorships accounted for $30 million of that increase.

Lady Vols revenue made biggest jump in this way

While football saw the biggest revenue increase in terms of total money, virtually every sport experienced steady growth.

Football revenue grew by 36%. Women’s basketball generated 47% more revenue than the year before. And men’s basketball increased by 14%.

The same sources contributed to their growth. Overall contributions to athletics increased from $32.7 million in 2021-22 to $62.3 million in 2022-23. Parking and concessions rose from $6.7 million to $12.3 million. Royalties, licensing and sponsorships increased from $17.8 million to $23.9 million.

Pay keeps rising for Tennessee coaches, staff

For the second straight year, UT’s athletic payroll jumped significantly – from $61.9 million in 2021-22 to $71 million in 2022-23.

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Almost half that $9.1 million increase can be attributed to Heupel’s $4 million raise following the 2022 season. Football assistants also got $1.1 million in raises that year.

In 2022-23, coaches’ salaries increased 19%. Support staff pay rose by 11%.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football: UT Vols athletics raked in record $200 million