Michigan State Athletics One of Top Departments to Profit From Donations Last Year

Michigan State's athletic department was one of the top recipients in donations during the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Ousted MSU football coach Mel Tucker is featured on an Michigan State Football license plate on a vehicle seen parked outside Spartan Stadium, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in East Lansing. / Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal

Michigan State's athletic department is well-renowned for its alumni.

The department racks up huge amounts of donations year after year, with most of the money having gone toward facilities in recent years.

One of those projects include the new Tom Izzo Football Building, which was made possible thanks to a massive donation from Coach Izzo's former player, Mat Ishbia. The former michigan State basketball player donated $20 million toward the facility as part of a $32-million donation to the athletic department as a whole. According to Michigan State Athletics, it was "the largest single cash commitment in MSU's history from an individual."

Other facilities that were contributed by donors were the Clara Bell Smith Student Athlete Academic Center ($2.5 million from Spartan alumnus Steve Smith) and the Duffy Daugherty Building/Skandalaris Football Center ($5 million from Robert and Julie Skandalaris as part of a $12.5-million project).

Grant Hughes of 247Sports recently revealed the top "25 fat cats who received largest 2023 donations," based on records from Sportico data. Only donations from the 2022-23 fiscal year were considered.

Michigan State came in at No. 15 with $45.1 million. It was two spots ahead of Michigan and was the fourth-highest of any Big Ten athletic department.

Texas A&M was No. 1 on the list at $115.4 million, the only department to reach $100 million.

"Unsurprisingly, around 90% of the total cash donated to the top 25 programs in 2022-23 was funneled directly into football programs," Hughes wrote. "Donors know football is the breadwinner in college athletics. Texas led the nation with $182 million in football revenue last season. Men's basketball brings in the second-most money but pales in comparison. The top-grossing hoops school netted $38 million."

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