Photos by Getty Images; Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In advance of the upcoming college football playoff semifinal between Ohio State and Clemson, here's a look at the two universities by the numbers -- sports, money and academics.
Ohio State is much larger; Clemson more expensive. And while Ohio State spends a lot more on its athletic program, the two schools are near equals over the last decade in football success.
Scroll below to learn more about the two state universities, on and off the football field -- one from Ohio and the Big Ten, the other from South Carolina and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The data is from the U.S. Department of Education, reports the schools file with the NCAA and cleveland.com/datacentral research.
Enrollment
Ohio State has 61,170 students at its Columbus campus, including 48,820 undergraduates.
Clemson has 24,951 students, including 19,669 undergraduates, at its campus in Clemson, South Carolina, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Tuition and other costs
Ohio residents pay close to $3,000 less a year to attend Ohio State than South Carolina residents do to attend Clemson, including tuition, fees, room and board, according to federal data from the 2018-19 school year.
Here's the breakdown:
- In-state tuition: Clemson $15,374; Ohio State $10,726.
- Out-of-state tuition: Clemson $37,128; Ohio State $30,742.
- Room-and-board on campus: Clemson $10,832; Ohio State $12,474.
Spending on sports
The Ohio State athletic program spent $203.8 million during the 2017-18 school year, according to the school's latest financial filing with the NCAA.
Clemson, with a much smaller overall operation, spent $118.8 million during the same time period.
Money from football ticket sales
Ohio State collected $59.3 million in football ticket revenue in 2017, the most recent year for which financial data has been reported to the NCAA.
Clemson took in $24.9 million that same year.
Home football attendance
Ohio State this season ranked third in the country in attendance with an average of 103,383 per game, behind only Michigan (111,459) and Penn State (105,678).
Clemson averaged 80,868 a game to rank 12th nationally.
Sports and athletes on campus
Ohio State fields 36 teams with 956 athletes, according to its latest financial filing with the NCAA for 2017-18.
Clemson has 20 teams and 587 athletes.
Subsidizing the sports program
Ohio State, through ticket sales, Big Ten contracts, donations and other sources, is able to pay its entire athletic bill without help from student fees or money from other non-athletic university sources.
Clemson does not report using any student fees for athletics, but listed $5.3 million in "direct institutional support" in its latest filing with the NCAA. This, according to the NCAA reporting requirements, could include unrestricted school money allocated to the athletic department such as state or tuition dollars, endowments not otherwise earmarked for sports, and federal work study dollars.
Wins over the previous 10 seasons
Over the last 10 seasons, Ohio State ranks second nationally in winning percentage (.858), behind Alabama (.907), with a record of 115-19 from 2009-18.
Clemson (.806) ranks fourth with a record of 112-27. Just ahead of Clemson is Boise State (.820) with a 109-24 record.
Both Ohio State and Clemson are 13-0 this season entering the playoffs.
National rankings
Ohio State and Clemson each have nine top 25 finishes in the last 10 seasons, tied for second best nationally. Only Alabama has finished in the AP top 25 in each of the last 10 seasons.
But Clemson has two national championships to Ohio State's one during this period.
Graduation rates
Campuswide, 59% of students graduate Ohio State within four years and 84% within six, according to federal data based on students who started school in 2012.
At Clemson, the graduation rates are 59% within four years and 83% within six years.
Teaching faculty
Ohio State, with 4,065 full-time teaching faculty and 2,382 part-time, reports a student-to-teacher ratio of 19-to-1.
Clemson reports a student-to-teacher ratio of 16-to-1, with 1,300 full-time teaching faculty and 100 part-time.
Head football coach pay and benefits
The financial filing each school is required to make with the NCAA is comprehensive when it comes to coaching pay. Schools must include wages, bonuses, allowances, speaking fees, retirement stipends, memberships, media income, tuition reimbursement and earned deferred compensation. And, if a job change occurs, totals for both coaches are combined.
For the 2017-18 school year, Ohio State reported pay and benefits of $6.97 million for head football coach Urban Meyer. Clemson reported $6.19 million for coach Dabo Swinney.
Assistant coach pay and benefits
Pay and benefits for the 10 assistant football coaching positions at Ohio State totaled $8.62 million during the 2017-18 school year.
For 10 assistant coaching positions, Clemson reported pay and benefits of $7.83 million.
Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See more data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral.
Previously
- Spending on sports up sharply in the Big Ten
- OSU and Florida Atlantic by the numbers
- OSU and Cincinnati by the numbers
- OSU and Indiana by the numbers
- OSU and Miami by the numbers
- OSU and Nebraska by the numbers
- OSU and Michigan State by the numbers
- OSU and Northwestern by the numbers
- OSU and Maryland by the numbers
- OSU and Rutgers by the numbers
- OSU and Penn State by the numbers
- OSU and Michigan by the numbers
- OSU and Wisconsin by the numbers
Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
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