Overview
- Public records from nearly 50 schools show Alabama at $1,235,418, Nebraska at $1,136,224, and Michigan at $1,078,481 in 2025 private jet costs that exclude team travel to games.
- The biggest outlays clustered in the SEC and Big Ten, with the entire top 12 from those leagues and the first Big 12 entry at No. 13 as Arizona State with $173,323.
- Texas A&M reported 39 private flights, including 15 for recruiting or official business and 24 tagged as personal for coach Mike Elko that totaled about $493,000 under his 40-hour flight allowance.
- Schools reported donated flights that blur who pays, including Michigan State booster Mike McNamara providing eight flights valued at $197,133 and a loaned jet worth $7,919, plus disclosed booster hours at ECU, Nebraska, Iowa, and Marshall.
- Funding routed through coach perks and third-party foundations limits full transparency, as seen with LSU listing a $275,000 annual private-flight allowance that can be covered by the Tiger Athletic Foundation outside public-records reach.