When it comes to college revenue, football has traditionally brought home a big chunk of the bacon and generated exposure that brings in applications and boosts alumni donations.

		Top 50 rankings • See the rankings for this year's Top 50 in Business report.

So it comes as no surprise that the University of Pittsburgh stands at the top of the heap in terms of total revenue among regional colleges in this area since it is the only one with a Division I-A football team.

Football team or not, Pitt also is the biggest public college in this region by far in terms of student enrollment.

On the other hand, Carnegie Mellon University's major competitive strength is its educational and research partnerships that span the globe. CMU recently teamed up with Disney to help create cartoon characters that are more animated and interactive.

According to Disney officials, Carnegie Mellon was selected because of its world expertise in computing, robotics, human-computer interaction and entertainment -- and because it knows how to work well with industry.

Student tuition, however, has always been the primary source of revenue for colleges and universities.

Reductions in revenue from sources other than tuition, particularly state and local appropriations in the public sector, are partly to blame for rapidly rising public college tuition levels in recent years.

Other important factors affecting costs include health benefits and utilities, which have increased in price more rapidly in recent years than the prices of other goods and services purchased by colleges and universities.

Nationwide, faculty salaries tend to be higher at private research institutions than at public institutions.