The Laboratory for the Study of Intercollegiate Athletics (LSIA) at Texas A&M did a study to see which Division I-A athletic department wins the most championships while being the most fiscally responsible. Basically, LSIA created a weighted formula in which national championships and conference championships are added together more weight is given to national championships), the results are divided by numbers of sports offered, and then that quotient is divided by total athletic operating expenses. The result is multiplied by 1,000,000 to make the total scores manageable. All scores were then ranked, which helped LSIA come up with a winner for the EM Cup.

This year's winner is Utah State, whom A&M will face in football this Fall. Utah State was one of three WAC teams to finish in the top 10, joined by #3 Louisiana Tech and #7 Boise State. #22 Fresno State and #24 Nevada also finished ranked in the top 25 for the WAC. Conference USA (#8 Tulsa, #10 SMU, #12 Rice, #13 Tulane, #21 East Carolina) also had five teams in the top 25, while the Mountain West (#5 BYU, #6 Utah, #16 New Mexico, #25 TCU) had four. Texas A&M was the Big 12's only representative, finishing ranked 15th.

The LSIA used EADA reports for financial information, so the veracity of the financial numbers used is in question. I don't believe any of A&M's recent EADA reports includes the $16 million line of credit the athletic department took out in 2003.

It is interesting to note, though, that when looking at bang for the buck, championships per money spent, so few Big 12 schools appear to be delivering.