Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Received Largest Football-Specific Donations Than Any Other SEC Program: Report
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No money hits quite like Texas money. When legendary Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry said, “Football is to Texas what religion is to a priest,” he wasn’t lying. According to Matt Stahl of AL.com, the Texas Longhorns football specifically beat every other SEC program in donations received for the 2025 fiscal year.
Texas didn’t just out‑raise the SEC; it out‑banked it. Public records show the Longhorns’ football program alone pulled in $59.5 million, out of a mind-blowing $167.8 million in total athletic donations, in football‑specific donations in the 2025 fiscal year, more than any other SEC school’s football operation. That stack of cash isn’t public subsidies or TV money, but rather private checks written straight to the Longhorns’ football war chest.
When you look at their rivals and other big-pocket SEC programs, the Longhorns lapped them by an unimaginable margin. The Longhorns are the only athletic department in the SEC to clear the $150 million mark in donor funding. That puts them more than $50 million ahead of famous programs like the Tennessee Volunteers football ($110.6 million) and the Oklahoma Sooners football ($92 million). That gap isn’t chump change. In fact, it’s the financial cushion that lets Texas treat its football program like a flagship NFL franchise, not just another college team.
Around 47.6% of Texas’s total athletic department revenue last fiscal year came from donations, a huge share for any SEC program. Within that, football‑specific gifts make up a disproportionate slice, feeding everything from coaching salaries to stadium upgrades. That private money flow is what lets Texas keep its football program in the top tier of the conference, even as media contracts change hands.
So, where exactly is that massive $59.5 million football fund going on a daily basis?
A big chunk, around $127 million across the whole athletic department, is being poured straight into art-like facility upgrades, high-tech player development lounges, and other construction projects across the campus.
Texas is treating its football campus like an elite NFL franchise. They are using donor money to modernize the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Center so the weight rooms and pretty much everything else look like a billion-dollar commercial designed to hypnotize top-tier high school recruits. No wonder the Longhorns are always in the top three when it comes to recruiting classes.
With federal courts clearing the way for the historic House v. NCAA revenue-sharing model, schools are now permitted to pay players up to $20.5 million a year directly out of school revenue. However, there have been some words coming out for some time now that the Longhorns spent over north of $45 million for the 2026 season roster. Now, at least we know where the money is pouring from.
This sheer economic gravity is exactly what allows Texas to protect its star players, comfortably bankroll an estimated $23-26 million transfer portal budget, including $3.3 million to a wide receiver, Cam Coleman.
However, with nearly $60 million in pure football donations, the pressure on Sarkisian is higher than ever, apparently.
What does Vegas think about the Longhorns’ highly anticipated 2026 season?
Vegas sportsbooks are all over them, placing Texas at +700 odds to win the national title, which is the second-best in the entire country, right behind Ohio State (+600).
If you are looking at conference futures, Vegas actually views Texas (+300) as the individual team to beat in the SEC. They got placed ahead of the boogeyman of the SEC, the Georgia Bulldogs (+330), to win the conference title.
The bookies have set their regular-season win total at 9.5. The absolute ceiling for this squad is an undefeated regular season, an SEC Championship trophy, and the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff.
The main thing that could keep them from reaching that high ceiling is a brutal schedule that includes a couple of coin-flip games. Vegas already has Texas pinned as a narrow 1.5-point home underdog in Week 2 against Ohio State. The Buckeyes got the best of the Texas Longhorns twice, and many believe they have one more L to hand Texas.
Apart from that one time, they are expected to take care of business elsewhere. They open as a 7.5-point favorite over Oklahoma and a 3.5-point road favorite against Texas A&M. The Longhorns offense didn’t look this good in the last 3 years. They got three WR1 on the squad, and the top 5 defence. At this point, anything less than a national championship is a failure. This is the last window Steve Sarkisian gets to win the natty, knowing Arch Manning is heading to the big league come April.
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