RICK CLEVELAND: In college athletics, the rich get richer

JACKSON, Mississippi -- USA Today’s recent report about athletic budgets at universities around the country raised some eyebrows in Mississippi.

The headlines told us Jackson State ($7.6 million), Alcorn State ($6.7 million) and Mississippi Valley State ($4.3 million), which all compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), all were among the lowest spenders in Division I.

Valley ranked No. 228 of 230 schools, Alcorn No. 225, and JSU No. 220.

Meanwhile, Ole Miss’ athletic revenue was highest among Mississippi universities at $110.5 million, followed by Mississippi State at $94.9 million.

The Southern Miss athletic budget checked in at $25.9 million.

Of course, everything is relative, and all the Mississippi schools were near the bottom of their respective conferences. JSU, Alcorn and Valley were all at or near the bottom of the SWAC. Ole Miss and State were among the lowest spenders in the SEC. And Southern Miss was next to lowest in Conference USA.

CONTINUE READING