On Monday, UCLA fired AD Martin Jarmond, apparently because the program is a financial disaster.
The athletic department has lost a ton of money. In 2025, UCLA had a $21.5 million deficit; in 2024, it was an eye-watering $51.9 million. Over the last five years, the athletic department has racked up over $200 million in debt. Ticket sales are declining, possibly because West Coast fans don’t care about Wisconsin and Nebraska and the like. Donors are not donating, and travel expenses have added to the problem as well.
Thing is, UCLA. is not the only power conference school struggling.
Maryland left the ACC because of financial struggles. The university has paid down much of the debt, but the athletic department is still losing $4 million to $5 million a year.
Arizona was really struggling too, but made a modest surplus of $400,000 in 2024-25, so props to the Wildcats.
In 2024, mighty Ohio State spent $292.7 million against $254.9 million in revenue.
Rutgers is where it gets really nightmarish, though: the school has lost $516 million since joining the Big Ten, and they haven’t been able to compete.
And lest you think it’s not happening in the ACC, UNC had a $15 million operating deficit in 2024-25, and had to turn to its emergency reserve funds for relief. NC State saw $144 million go out in 2025-26 against just $126 million in revenue.
Duke made a profit in 2024, but barely, with $181.6 million in revenue against $180.6 million in expenses.
You can kind of see why none of the conferences want to let professionals return to college: it’s just going to drive costs up faster and further.
Clearly, this can’t go on indefinitely. No one has a solution at the moment, but eventually, the money will run out.
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