Pac-12: Schools that don’t spend enough could face penalty. Where do Bulldogs stand?

Fresno State or any other school in a rebuilding Pac-12 could face a penalty if failing to meet spending and revenue sharing floors, which are designed to boost to the competitive level and balance across the league and are under development by conference leadership.

“I think any time you have a standard, you have to be thoughtful about how to create accountability around the standard,” said Pac-12 deputy commissioner Rick Hart, who made a stop in Fresno on Monday as part of a tour of conference schools. “Those are all things that have to be discussed..”

The minimum investment levels, which were included in a short-form membership agreement signed by the Pac-12’s newest members and holdovers Oregon State and Washington State, would likely impact only football, basketball and women’s basketball programs.

But they could be a challenge for the Bulldogs and some others in the conference, depending on what is included in determining those floors.

Fresno State invested $18 million in its football program in 2025, ranking last among schools that will be joining the new Pac-12 on July 1.

The average in the conference, not counting facilities debt or maintenance, was $21.6 million.

The Bulldogs also ranked seventh in basketball operating expenses and eighth in women’s basketball, according to the revenue and expense reports the schools filed with the NCAA. For Gonzaga, a private university, its Equity in Athletics Data Analysis report to the Department of Education was used.

The NCAA reports include 25 expense categories, from scholarship costs and coaching salaries down to spirit groups and sports camp expenses. It is an interesting puzzle. Every school awards athletics scholarships, but the costs of tuition, out of state tuition and fees differ even in the same system. Fresno State and San Diego State are part of the California State University, but the Bulldogs’ athletics department in 2025 invested $8.1 million in 258.8 scholarships, while the Aztecs spent $11.1 million on 247.3 scholarships.

Colorado State, as another example, ranked at the top of the Pac-12 in football operating expenses in 2025 at $37.8 million. But that includes $13.5 million in athletics facilities debt service, leases and rental fees. It also includes $2.3 million in facilities maintenance and operations. If they are not included in the equation, the Rams’ football operating expenses drop into the middle of the league in expenses.

The competitive balance became an issue when Fresno State, Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah State were in the Mountain West Conference.

Some in the league spent considerably less than the schools at the top of the league, and though investment does not guarantee results on the football field the results showed the disparity.

Nevada, 10-39 over the past four seasons, invested $14.8 million in football in 2025.

Wyoming, 7-17 the past two years, spent $13.1 million. In 2023, when the Cowboys invested $15.7 million in their football program, they went 9-4.

New Mexico in 2021 put only $9.3 million into its football program, but has made strides with greater investment. The Lobos in 2025 invested $15.4 million in football.

“We know that football and men’s and women’s basketball drive perception disproportionally to all the other sports,” Hart said. “It’s not because they’re any more important, it’s just because that’s the reality of how people perceive conferences and programs. Those certainly will be important sports for us to be competitive in.

“We just want to get it right. I think it will be in place in time for it to have the intended effect, but it’s more so getting it right.