Liberty University doesn't move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision for another year, but according to figures from a Department of Education web site, the Flames already have an FBS budget.

The Lynchburg school spent a little more than $45 million on athletics in 2015-2016, the last year for which the Department of Education has numbers. To put this in perspective, that's more than Boise State, New Mexico and every school in Conference USA, including Old Dominion, spent that year.

It was the largest budget in the country for a Football Championship Subdivision school, nearly twice as large as the budget at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. Only Virginia and Virginia Tech spent more among state schools.

No wonder the NCAA said yes when Liberty applied for special permission earlier this year to play as an FBS independent.

Because it has an endowment of more than $1 billion and an administration with designs on competing on the highest level, it was generally thought that Liberty was spending heavily on athletics, but how much was a matter of conjecture.

As a private school, Liberty isn't subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Credit for digging out these numbers goes to John O'Connorof the Richmond Times-Dispatch, who recently compared the football and basketball budgets of all Virginia Division I schools.

ODU's budget of nearly $39.4 million was the largest in C-USA. If you add debt payments of $4.5 million, the school spent about $44 million in 2015-2016.

The Flames are in a transition season this year and don't yet offer a full complement of 85 football scholarships. Nonetheless, in 2015-2016, Liberty spent $10.7 million on football or $1.1 million more than ODU.

ODU opens in 2018 at Liberty, and the Monarchs will be paid a $1.32 million guarantee. Clearly, the cash flow in Lynchburg is sufficient to cover the check.

Virginia became the first school in state history to top $100 million in athletic spending in 2015-2016. According to the federal web site, the school reported spending $100,165,988. Virginia Tech spent a more modest $84 million.

Because the Hokies and Hoos receive tens of millions of dollars in ACC revenue sharing, their resources dwarf those at other state schools. U.Va. spent more than William and Mary, Hampton University, VMI, Norfolk State, Radford and Longwood combined.

U.Va. raised $31 million in contributions and got $16 million in TV revenue, according to the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts. The Hokies, meanwhile, invest heavily in the sport that offers the biggest return: football. Tech spent $30.1 million on the sport, compared to $20.3 million at U.Va. The Hokies' football program generated $48.9 million in revenue.

The federal database also revealed budget figures for the state's two other Division I private schools: Richmond and Hampton.

Richmond spent $27.6 million on all sports, just slightly more than William and Mary ($26.5 million), including $4.9 million on basketball. The Spiders were outspent in basketball only by Virginia and Virginia Tech and Atlantic 10 rival VCU.

Hampton's budget of $13.8 million was slightly larger than VMI ($13.6 million) and Norfolk State ($11.4 million). The Spartans have the state's second-smallest budget, ahead of only Longwood, which spent $10 million but doesn't have football.

Virginia Wesleyan, a Division III school that does not offer athletic scholarships, reported an athletic budget of nearly $2.4 million. Christopher Newport, a Division III public school that plays football, reported a budget of $9.1 million.

There is no better example of how much weight being a Power 5 school carries with the NCAA than how JMU got hosed in the NCAA softball tournament.

The Dukes posted a 50-6 regular-season record, beat Auburn on the road when the Tigers were ranked second, had a 7-1 record against the ACC and won their last 19 games of the regular season.

The Dukes featured Megan Good, a junior who hit .383 with 12 home runs and had a 38-3 pitching record. She was named national Player of the Year. Teams with great pitchers generally serve as regional hosts, as the Dukes did in 2016.

JMU, ranked higher than Baylor in both the RPI and national polls, yet the NCAA sent them to Baylor for the Waco Regional.

JMU, predictably, dropped two heartbreakers to the homestanding Bears.

When Auburn recently announced that it had hired assistant baseball coach Karl Nonemaker away from ODU, it was a double loss for athletic director Wood Selig. Katie Kiefner Nonemaker, Karl's wife, is Selig's long-time assistant.

"She was like having Radar O'Reilly from M*A*S*H on staff," Selig said. "She was always one step ahead. She was like the chief of staff. She kept everyone in the department organized and on target."

Before coming to ODU in 2010, she worked with Mike Aresco at CBS Sports in New York. Aresco is now commissioner of the American Athletic Conference.

It was a delight dealing with Katie, who served as Selig's liaison with the media, although I admit some personal bias. I lived next door to her family for nearly a decade in Larchmont and watched her grow up.

Katie's maiden name should be familiar to ODU fans. Her father, Rick Kiefner, has been part of ODU's football radio broadcasts since the team began and the school's basketball broadcasts for decades.

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Liberty University already spends more on athletics than ODU and JMU - Virginian-Pilot