Special Report

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Spotlights throw their incandescent reverence on the royal blue signs outside, crisscrossed by shadows of fans from throughout the state — shadows plenty long enough to shield the University of Kentucky’s 15 other varsity sports.

The regular visitors, mostly big-time donors, wield season tickets willed to them from another generation of Wildcat faithful. They swish their cocktails at the temporary bar in the adjacent Hyatt lobby with gold lapel pins on sport coats over mock turtlenecks.

Outside, those who cut the blue east-west swath across Kentucky soak in the treasured pilgrimage to Rupp Arena. Wide-eyed sons in replica jerseys flash photos with their equally awed fathers in ball caps.

Once inside, the disparate groups unite to sufficiently jeer, even confidently disregard the visitors. The lights dim, announcer Doug Bruce booms the starting home five and white-hot fireworks fill the arena’s upper corners, where they’ll tell you the real fans sit.

Game time.

At the Southeastern Conference’s northernmost institution, basketball is surely king. It’s the closest strata to professional sports that college athletics ever achieves.

The University of Kentucky — a program that has led the nation in attendance 10 of the past 11 seasons and won more college basketball games than any team in history — is in many ways the antithesis to the rest of the SEC.

But UK follows suit in one regard: While basketball may fill the trophy cases, football fills the coffers.

Hoopsters meet autograph hounds whenever they steal away from the plush, exclusive Wildcat Lodge for players and student trainers, with its wide-screen TVs and catered meals.

Coach Tubby Smith earned $1.9 million in 2006.

Aside from the occasional skill-player star, football players dwell in anonymity with their peers in 11-by-16-foot cramped double rooms far from just about anything on one corner of campus.

Coach Rich Brooks earned $715,000 in 2006.

With tradition, national television appearances and 22,763 fans per game, the 2005-06 basketball Cats earned the UK athletics department $11.8 million in revenues and a $5 million profit.

The football team finished 2005 — the most recent season for which financial records are available — with a 3-8 record, entrenched disappointment and a fan base restless for a coaching change.

Still, football earned Kentucky athletics $19.8 million in revenue and a $10.4 million profit.

The football team achieved an 8-5 season in 2006, including signature wins over the University of Georgia and over Clemson University in the Music City Bowl, so profits are sure to exceed last year’s mark.

No doubt college basketball is a cash cow. CBS Sports paid the NCAA $432.6 million to broadcast the 2005 men’s basketball tournament, which earned an additional $29.4 million in revenue.

But the SEC, consistently one of the top basketball leagues, earned $12.5 million for its regular season basketball games, with 12 teams each playing 30 to 35 games per year.

With football and its 11- or 12-game season, the SEC earned $50 million for the regular season.

According to a letter to Congress from NCAA President Myles Brand, 326 Division I men’s basketball programs brought in revenues of $789 million for 2005-06, while 117 Division I-A football teams brought in $1.6 billion.

Half the teams. Twice the money.

Attendance counts for much of the disparity. Kentucky’s losing football team still drew an average of 62,450 fans on Saturdays, three times the crowd for basketball.

University presidents and athletic directors loathe to give up the postseason bowl setup for a playoff system know they paid out $124.6 million to the 64 teams who participated and to their conferences in 2006-07.

Among the 143 university clients of Atlanta-based Collegiate Licensing Co., Kentucky ranked 14th in merchandise sales for 2005. Thirteen of the top-15 schools are traditional football powers, including the universities of Texas, Michigan, Notre Dame, Georgia, Oklahoma and Penn State.

The University of North Carolina is the other basketball exception, ranked at No. 6 in merchandise sales.