Brian Kelly attributes Big Ten dominance to greater financial commitments vs. SEC

A lot has been made over the Big Ten’s run of college football dominance over the past several years, including the conference claiming the last three College Football Playoff national championships. In fact, given that run of success, many pundits believe the Big Ten has overtaken the SEC as the sport’s premier conference, a reality that doesn’t sit well with many within the SEC’s footprint.

But it’s not just on the football field where the Big Ten is dominating the SEC — it’s in the pocketbook as well. Last week, the Big Ten announced a record revenue distribution of $1.37 billion to the conference’s 18 member schools for the 2024-25 fiscal year. That averaged out to approximately $76.1 million per Big Ten program. Meanwhile, the SEC announced in February that it distributed $1.03 billion to its 16 member schools for an average of $72.4 million for its 14 member schools with full-year financial participation.

And it’s that financial disparity that former LSU and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly believes is at the crux of the Big Ten’s dominance over the past several years.

“The Big Ten made a huge commitment in understanding the finances involved here, and they moved quicker on some things. And, actually, the revenue-producing piece for the Big Ten over the SEC, the Big Ten had a larger piece,” Kelly told USA Today‘s John Brice and Blake Toppmeyer this week. “Now, it’s not that the Big Ten won because they had more money, that’s not what I’m saying. But they were a little bit more proactive in those areas. I think the depth of the SEC might be a little bit deeper, but (at) the top end, the Big Ten’s been better.”

That financial commitment, as well as a leveling of the playing field regarding talent dispersal thanks to NIL and revenue-sharing, has allowed the Big Ten to overtake the SEC on and off the field. In fact, the Big Ten won four of its seven games against the SEC in 2025, including a 3-1 mark in bowl games — highlighted by eventual national champion Indiana‘s 38-3 drubbing of Alabama in the Rose Bowl. It was a similar story in 2024, when the Big Ten won six of 10 matchups vs. the SEC, including a 5-1 mark in the postseason.

“All those games mean a lot, and the quality of competition on both ends is outstanding,” Kelly added. “… But clearly, I think the Big Ten was proactive, the Big Ten put in the time and the effort to make sure their top schools, and even the schools down below, were getting reimbursed so they could continue to build their programs. And I think at the end of the day, it’s cyclical. You’re going to see this thing is not going to be (all) Big Ten for 20 years. But I think you’re going to see the Big Ten going head-to-head with the SEC year-in and year-out.”

Despite the Big Ten’s recent run of success, the SEC has won more games than it’s lost vs. the Big Ten over the past several seasons with a 31-25 record between 2015-25, according to mcubed.net.