Mississippi State hit the jackpot this football season, and that’s not just a turn of phrase.

The Bulldogs’ football program began the year unranked, but spent the last five weeks as the No. 1 team in the country. And as sports business expert Kristi Dosh explained, that No. 1 ranking normally comes with a financial reward.

The school can expect increased revenue, as the buzz created by the football team’s unprecedented success has led to increased ticket sales and increased apparel sales, among other positive trends.

But Mississippi State’s success on the gridiron benefits it most via donations to the athletics department and the university.

“At most schools who play at the FBS level, donations are the largest source of revenue. That’s also where you have the greatest opportunity for revenue to increase as the result of a winning season,” Dosh said in an interview with SDS.

Donors love to support a winner, and the more sustained success a team can generate the more money it can haul in through donations.

This leads us to ask two pivotal questions: How is the donated money spent and why does success on the football field lead to more donations to the university?

Let’s start by answering the first question.

As Dosh explained, it varies by the school as to how that school spends its donations, but much of it remains within the athletics department.

“Some will use increased revenue to more fully fund scholarships in other sports if they’re not already at NCAA limits,” Dosh said. “Some will put toward a facility upgrade and others might simply build up reserves.”

Mississippi State, for example, just expanded Davis Wade Stadium to add new luxury boxes and a greater capacity for more fans to immerse themselves in the Clanga Nation experience. It’ll make even more renovations to the stadium this offseason in advance of the 2015 season. The Bulldogs began executing this plan well before this season’s success, but the season at hand will only allow for more projects like this in the future, be they related to the football program or a different athletic program.

But the better questions is why people feel the need to send money to a school for winning a football game. It’s simple — because sustained success means sustained exposure.

Think about it: Mississippi State is at the forefront of college athletics this fall thanks to its top-ranked football team, and potential donors see that exposure as a way to build up the entire Mississippi State brand, not just the football program or the athletics department.

The Bulldogs are in a marquee game nearly every week against some of the biggest state schools in the Southeast, and defeating those schools makes the MSU brand appear greater than its opponent’s.

Dosh had evidence to back up this theory. She wrote a piece for Fox Sports earlier this season when news broke that Alabama boosters had paid off the rest of Nick Saban’s $3.1 million home, and the piece essentially explained that Saban did more to benefit the University of Alabama than UA did to benefit him with a $6.9 million annual salary.

In addition to football revenue increasing by 68 percent from the season preceding Saban’s hiring to the 2012 season, the University of Alabama as a whole has seen enormous growth, both in size and revenue, Dosh said in the article.

She noted Alabama had 2,879 more out-of-state students in its Fall 2013 freshman class than in its Fall 2007 class, and that UA had 9,996 more undergraduates overall in 2013 than in 2006. The university’s 51 percent growth in enrollment from 2006 to 2013 was greater than any other school in the SEC,  and greater enrollment, especially in the form of out-of-state students paying higher tuition rates, is money in the university’s pocket.

“Numerous studies have been written about how football success impacts the university as a whole — increased applications, increased enrollment, more selectivity, increased donations,” Dosh said.

It didn’t happen overnight for the Tide upon Saban’s arrival, but it did happen in a very short span of time. Mississippi State could be heading down a similar path. But first, just like Alabama did, it’ll have to pay its coach to make sustained success a real possibility.

That’s where the donations play a role.

“Mississippi State might have to use some of (its increased revenue) to extend its contract with head coach Dan Mullen to ensure he’s not tempted to leave for another job and reward him for a job well done,” Dosh said.

The Bulldogs ranked 53rd in the FBS in football revenue in 2013 (the most recent figures Dosh has at her disposal), which she said was “almost right on the overall FBS average.”

The numbers won’t be released until next year, but the football team is almost certain to generate more revenue this year than last, and by a wide margin. And while some of that money could go to Mullen, much more of it will be able to go elsewhere throughout the athletics department and the university.

“I built this facility. I had a hand in where every door in this facility went and how we built this program from the ground up. I have a great administration, from a great president and Scott Stricklin, our athletic director. This program is built how I want a program to run,” Mullen said in a recent interview.

If the program Mullen has built continues to make money like a No. 1 team, Mississippi State might really become the “destination job” Mullen claims it to be.

Kristi Dosh is a sports business analyst for a number of media outlets including Campus Insiders and Outkick the Coverage, and authored the popular book Saturday Millionaires about the business of college football.