Earlier this week, the SportsBusiness Journal ranked the top revenue-generating college sports programs in the country. Texas ($120.3 million), Ohio State ($118 million) and Florida ($106 million) led the pack, which included four SEC and four Big Ten schools.

It's natural to see these colossal incomes and assume that athletics is an enormous economic boon for a university. The fact remains, however, that in most cases expenses at these top-tier programs exceed revenue, which means many athletics departments operate in the red--and the recession hasn't helped.

Ohio State, for example, has been one of the only Division I programs able to perennially turn a profit. This year Athletics Director Gene Smith anticipates a shortfall.

In 2006 the Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics noted that spending in athletics was outpacing the university as a whole and that growth was not sustainable over the long term. The findings prompted NCAA President Myles Brand to call for greater fiscal responsibility.

Universities have been striving to meet Brand's challenge by sharing best practices and participating in the NCAA's dash board project, a financial system that allows institutional leaders to compare anonymously their athletics spending with similar programs. Still, perhaps one of the greatest catalysts for change has been the on-going global recession.

Universities and conferences are cutting back on travel and other expenses like printed media guides. But, it remains to be seen if these changes will be enough to offset mounting expenses.

A recent study commissioned by the NCAA found that institutions are spending more on athletics as a function of the entire university budget (an average of 6 percent of an institution's overall spending is on athletics), up almost a full percentage point from comparable data from 2003. The study also found increased support for the existence of an "arms race," with data showing that a $1 increase in the average athletics operating expenditures by other schools in a conference can prompt a school to increase its own athletics spending by about 60 cents.

According to the Centre Daily Times, reported expenses for 2007-08, at Penn State, for example, were more than $79.2 million--an increase of nearly $8 million from the previous year and a 69 percent increase from the 2002-03 fiscal year. Despite record revenue and positive cash flow, the university is setting a good example by being prudent and cutting back.

While it is certainly good news to see universities generating significant revenue, fans should put those numbers in perspective and understand that, in most cases, athletics programs are lucky to break even.