Bulldogs among college football’s most profitable programs

Most profitable football programs based on 2014-16 school data

Five of the 10-most profitable football programs in college sports are in the Southeastern Conference, but the clubhouse leader may not be the one you think.

USA TODAY's revenue rankings measure an athletics program total earnings. Georgia ranks No. 15 on that list for 2015-16.

Schools ranker College Raptor used financial data from the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons - the most recent available - to rank the most profitable sports teams at colleges and universities. Football ranked first (big surprise there) among all sports.

The most profitable programs generally were indicative that they were competitive and drew large crowds.

SEC schools, with the largest-stadium capacities and faithful followings, outranked most others.

Tennessee, with the second largest stadium in the conference, ranked second overall in the profits scale. Georgia made the biggest profit jump from 10th to 6th in Mark Richt's final season as head coach.

Here are the Top 10 college football programs on the profit scale:

10. Auburn University 

2015-16: $48,827,706

2014-15: $50,641,097

Previous rank: 8

9. University of Florida 

2015-16: $49,099,589

2014-15: $51,712,680

Previous rank: 7

8. Ohio State University 

2015-16: $51,446,665

2014-15: $49,267,915

Previous rank: 9

7. LSU 

2015-16: $56,096,682

2014-15: $55,278,259

Previous rank: 6

6. University of Georgia 

2015-16: $56,947,313

2014-15: $48,728,201

Previous rank: 10

5. University of Oklahoma

2015-16: $58,028,247

2014-15: $58,287,832

Previous rank: 5

4. University of Michigan

2015-16: $59,626,476

2014-15: $60,552,123

Previous rank: 3

3. University of Notre Dame 

2015-16: $63,577,691

2014-15: $59,561,592

Previous rank: 4

2. University of Tennessee

2015-16: $78,073,317

2014-15:$78,944,930

Previous rank: 2

1. University of Texas

2015-16: $97,866,741

2014-15: $97,196,485

Previous rank: 1

For the curious: The Alabama Crimson Tide, which was crowned the national champion of the 2015-16 season, ranked as the 11th most profitable college football program.