At this time of year, college football captures the nation's attention. The cooler afternoons, the changing colors of the picturesque campuses and gatherings of alumni reconnecting on football Saturdays foster the romantic notion of the schoolboy game.

The passion ranges from small schools whose teams harbor no delusions of grandeur to the sprawling campuses that are bolstered by the weekly surge of fans and whose student-athletes foresee a future as instant millionaires playing on the professional level.

As you would expect with such a target-rich environment for marketers and retailers, it didn't take long for money to find its way to college sports. Some colleges are thinking outside the box in playing their marketing cards when it comes to athletics, and so are the companies that have figured out there's gold in those passionate fan bases.

Just look at the money TV networks dole out for broadcasting rights. ESPN's 12-year contract to air the college football playoffs and six associated bowls cost the network a reported $5.64 billion, which breaks down to nearly $470 million a year, according The Wall Street Journal. Keep in mind, that covers only the playoffs and some bowl games. Deals to televise regular-season games total billions more.

Those arrangements are negotiated with conferences, which include anywhere from 10 schools, as in the Big 12 Conference, to 14 schools, as in conferences like the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference. If you're keeping score, that’s 10 teams in the Big 12 and 14 teams in the Big Ten.

Rest assured, those conferences are anything but mathematically challenged when it comes to the value of their sports. High-profile Notre Dame, which eschews conference affiliation in football and has managed to succeed as an independent program, has its own TV deal, a contract with NBC Sports that brings in $15 million a year through 2025.

If TV money is available to the schools, why wouldn't they tap other sources of income?

At the University of Texas, where the athletic department budget tops $160 million, athletic director Steve Patterson recently was fired, and his replacement will step into a situation in which important negotiations for a new shoe and apparel contract are underway. Some of the backlash attributed to Patterson's ouster involved his efforts to cut costs and raise funds for the athletic department, including instituting a season-ticket loyalty program that alienated longtime supporters.

Those apparel deals are no small potatoes, either. Three top manufacturers — Nike, Adidas and Under Armour — compete as intensely off the fields as the players compete on them. The University of Michigan recently switched after 10 years with Adidas to Nike, drawing $11.1 million a year in a 12-year deal that outpaces Notre Dame's $9 million-per-year deal with Under Armour. Not only the big names get to play in that game; Louisville, known more for its basketball than football, landed a deal with Adidas for $7.8 million a year.

Tying flavored gelatin to college sports might be a stretch, but that didn’t stem Jell-O's creative juices when the company came up with molds in the shape of college logos. That's an innovative way to tap into an unusual market for the snack, but good luck trying to find a college student unfamiliar with the term — and ingredients — of a Jell-O shot.

The company is not alone in linking drinking to college athletics. Campus stadiums, which for decades stood as alcohol-free zones (at least at the concession stands), have changed course by adding beer sales. Schools not only hope that helps boost game attendance, which fell last season to its lowest level since 2003, but also bring in the almighty dollars. At West Virginia, officials expect to reap $500,000 from football stadium sales this year.

It's all just a not-so-subtle reminder that in the world of college athletics, there is plenty of money to be made by all — except for the athletes themselves.