 The athletic department's budget is $35.5 million compared to a $1.6 billion budget for the entire university.Most of the athletics budget comes from self-generating revenue (ticket sales, merchandise, broadcast rights), while the rest is taken from mandatory student fees.Though widely dismissed by Rutgers 1000 supporters as a logical fallacy the argument that having a very visible football program increases the donations to the athletic department and even the university as a whole is made by some Scarlet R supporters.