Georgia couldn't beat Florida on the football field last fall, but the Bulldogs won at the bank.
Likely bolstered by their preseason No. 1 ranking, the Bulldogs generated the second-most revenue in college football last year - $67.05 million - according to figures reported by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal on Monday. That was second only to the University of Texas ($72.95 million) and one spot ahead of the national champion Florida Gators ($66.1 million).
Ohio State ($65.16 million) and Notre Dame ($59.77) round out the top five, according to SBJ.
Georgia's football revenues increased 12.7 percent in 2008, SBJ reported. The Bulldogs finished the season ranked No. 2 in 2007 before opening last season ranked No. 1.
"I think there's definitely something to that [increasing revenues]," said Alan Thomas, UGA's senior associate AD for marketing and promotion. "The continuation of excitement from the end of [2007] to last year and the premium on tickets was kind off a perfect storm for us."
The Bulldogs' overall athletic program, with $84.02 million in revenue, ranked only 13th in the nation. That was well behind the top three of Texas ($120 million), Ohio State ($117 million) and Florida ($106 million). UGA was also ranked behind SEC rivals Auburn (7th, $89.31 million), Alabama (8th, $88.87 million), Tennessee (9th, $88.72 million) and LSU (12th, $84.18 million) in overall revenue.
"That surprised me," Thomas said of the relative low ranking. "But I don't know how they count it or what their criteria is. We feel like we're doing well."
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