Gophers Hockey is the Biggest “Non-Revenue” Money Maker in the Big Ten

It has been over a decade since the Minnesota Gophers hockey team moved from the WCHA to the Big Ten, before the 2013-14 season. At the time, lifelong Golden Gopher fans joined arms with those who were raised to hate the Goliath of collegiate hockey, in order to denounce the sport’s ultimate “money grab”.

On Tuesday, The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman released a deep dive report into the 2024 spending habits and current financial situation for all 18 Big Ten athletic departments. His resulting article focuses mostly on what his research revealed about the financial situations of all 18 football programs.

Not only did he write about which programs spend the most money (SHOCKER: it’s Ohio State), but also where they spend it, where they get it and whether or not they are making more than they are spending.

Don’t worry, Gopher fans. You can sleep easy knowing that the U of M athletic department comes out of Dochtorman’s report looking very financially stable. But you can look into that yourself. This isn’t about PJ Fleck’s football program. This is about the non-revenue money maker that is Minnesota Gophers hockey.

Gophers hockey making money for the University of Minnesota

According to Dochterman, the Golden Gophers hockey program is the only non football or basketball program in the entire Big Ten that finished 2024 with a net surplus ($1.82 million). They did so, thanks to a total revenue generated of $7.84 million, which also led all “non-revenue” sports.

Only two other sports beyond football and men’s basketball recorded profits in fiscal year 2024: Minnesota men’s ice hockey and Nebraska women’s volleyball. The Gophers generated $7.84 million and featured a $1.82 million surplus. The Huskers earned $7.25 million in revenue and were $1.34 million in the black.

Scott Dochterman – The Athletic

A previous version of this article read that Gophers hockey led the entire country in revenue generated by “non-revenue” sports, which was not verified in Dochterman’s report. That doesn’t mean it isn’t true, however. If they lead the Big Ten — one of two power conferences in the country — then they very well may lead the nation. Verifying that with the financial records of over 130 FBS-level institutions is research I am not willing to do, however.

So, how did the Gopher hockey program do it? Well, they’re popular and it shows in their ticket sales, where in 2024, they cashed in on $3.98 million worth of revenue via ticket sales, again the highest of any non-revenue sport in the conference, including Iowa women’s basketball with Caitlin Clark.

But it’s not just that. A deeper dive into the U of M’s financial reporting for 2024 shows that Gophers hockey brought in $1.5M in sponsorship and advertising revenue last season, only $500K behind Gopher men’s basketball’s $2M and $1.5M behind Gopher football’s $3M in the same category.

Related: Gophers Hockey, Wrestling Headlines Twin Cities Sports Schedule in February

No other U of M sport brought in more than $40K in advertising/sponsorship revenue last year. Mariucci Arena also made $883K in concession and parking revenue in 2024, second only to football’s $2.8 million. The men’s basketball program, which is struggling to get fans into The Barn, made just $451K in concession/parking revenue last year.

Men’s hockey doing what other non-revenue Gophers sports can’t

As mentioned in Scott’s reporting, men’s ice hockey at the University of Minnesota brought in $7.8 million in total operating revenue in 2024. that’s third of all Gopher sports behind just football ($90 million) and men’s basketball ($14.9 million). No other sport posted over $513K.

Yes, Minnesota’s exodus from the WCHA came with serious negative consequences, some of which were felt immediately. When they left, other top programs (SCSU, UND, UMD, MSU, NEB-Omaha, DEN, CC) followed. By 2022, the WCHA conference crumbled and now only exists on the women’s side.

But as years go by and the college sports landscape continues to change more and more rapidly, we are seeing the longterm “why” in the University of Minnesota and Wisconsin’s decision to bail on the familiarity, history and rivalries created within their conference home of 47 years, in exchange for the financial security being offered by the Big Ten.

Related: Minnesota QB Max Brosmer Gets THE Invite

Unlike other non-revenue sports, Minnesota Gophers hockey is turning into an additional money-maker for the University. No, it is never going to bring in cash like football does and collegiate hockey is never going to be as nationally popular as basketball. But to be crowned as the only revenue generating “non-revenue” sport in the entire Big Ten means Gopher hockey is doing something right.