Behind the Blue Disk

FBS Athletic Revenues and Expenses

How many Division I athletics departments operate in the black?
Less than 7 percent of Division I athletics programs had positive net revenue between 2004 and 2010. In the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), only 22 of 120 schools showed positive net revenue for the 2010 fiscal year, eight more than in 2009.

How are college sports funded?
The most common sources of generated revenue are ticket sales, donations from boosters, the selling of media rights and corporate sponsorships. Most athletics departments also require student fees and institutional subsidies to help cover costs.

How much revenue comes from allocated resources?
In 2010, about 26 percent of revenue for the median FBS athletics department came from tax dollars and other revenues directly allocated to the university. The figure for Football Championship Subdivision schools is 73 percent and goes up to 80 percent for Division I programs without football.

When it comes to subsidies, how much are we talking?
For FBS schools, the median amount was $9.8 million in 2010 or approximately 1 percent of overall university budgets. For other Division I schools, the median was approximately $8.8 million, which equates to less than 4 percent of overall school budgets.

Is there any good news?
During the past two years, generated revenue at FBS institutions grew by 16 percent, while total expenses rose by 13 percent, which indicates that athletics operations are becoming more sustainable. In addition, the rate of change in expenses between the athletics department and the overall institution budget is now the same.

If college sports don’t make money, why do schools sponsor them?College sports provide tangible learning and character-building opportunities for student-athletes. They also bring an intrinsic value to the campus and surrounding community that is difficult to measure.

How can schools lose money when men’s basketball and football generate so much money?
Between 50 to 60 percent of FBS football and basketball programs have generated more revenue than expenses. Still, that means almost half of the so-called revenue sports don’t cover their own expenses, let alone pay for the non-revenue programs.

Why do coaches make so much money?
Coaching salaries are market-driven just like they are for faculty in medicine, law, business and other academic fields. Of the tens of thousands of full-time and part-time coaches in all three divisions, about 100 coaches at top-tier Division I institutions make a million dollars or more. These coaches are the exception. For example, in 2010, a typical Division I head men’s tennis coach made about $49,000 annually and a Division I head women’s golf coach about $52,000. Most Divisions II and III coaches make less than their Division I counterparts. When it comes to high salaries, it is all about the market and institutional autonomy.