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New NCAA Study Shows 23 Athletic Departments in the Black

The NCAA’s most recent Revenues and Expenses of Division I Athletic Departments report was released today. The document is a comprehensive look at athletic department finances across all of Division I, including private institutions which generally release less financial data. Like many NCAA research efforts, this report is released roughly every four years.

The highlights include:

  • 23 athletic departments operated in the black last year, same as in 2011. By the NCAA’s definition, this means the school’s athletic department generated revenue exceeded expenses, and the athletic department needed no allocated revenue (i.e. subsidy) from the school to break even.
  • While revenues are going up, expenses are rising faster. Expenses in FBS were 10.8% in the last year, while revenues increased only 4.6%.
  • The median negative net generated revenue (generated revenue minus expenses) was a “loss” of over $12 million while the median positive net generated revenue was a “profit” of $8 million.

The rest of the report can be accessed here.


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