The NCAA News - News Features

Study: Typical I-A program is $1.2 million in the black

The NCAA's bi-annual study of the finances of college athletics shows that revenues are increasing at a faster rate than expenses for Divisions I and II institutions.

"Revenues and Expenses of Intercollegiate Athletics Programs" shows that Division I-A is the only subdivision or division of the Association in which the average member operates at a profit. In 1995, the athletics program at the average Division I-A institution brought in approximately $15.5 million in revenue while spending approximately $14.3 million, an average profit of about $1.2 million. That compares to an average profit of $660,000 per institution in 1993, the last year surveyed.

However, as in the past, that figure is subject to interpretation. If institutional support is removed as a revenue source, the average Division I-A program operates at a $237,000 deficit, compared to a $174,000 deficit in 1993.

Further, while 75 percent of Division I-A institutions operated at a profit counting all revenue sources, only 46 percent were profitable if institutional support is excluded. In 1993, 51 percent operated at a profit without institutional support.

Regardless of whether institutional support is counted as a I-A revenue source, it is apparent that the financial health of the major programs is much stronger than it was six years ago, when the survey showed that the average I-A program showed a profit of $78,000, or 10 years ago, when I-A programs lost $61,000 on average.

Programs in other subdivisions and in Division II operated at a deficit in 1995. The average deficits were: Division I-AA, $469,000; Division I-AAA, $388,000; Division II (with football), $221,000; Division II (without football), $177,000. [Division III was surveyed separately; a report appeared in the November 11 issue of The NCAA News.]

The average Division I-A institution generated 29 percent of its revenue through ticket sales (down from 33 percent in 1993), 15 percent through donor contributions and nine percent through institutional support. Conference distributions, student activity fees and radio/television rights fees each accounted for seven percent of revenue.

Salaries and benefits were the primary expense at 31 percent, the same as 1993. The other principal expense was for grants-in-aid at 17 percent (down from 18 percent).

Of the total expenditures, 48 percent are directed toward men (down from 54) and 15 percent toward women (up from 14). The remaining 38 percent is administrative.

The percentage of overall expenses spent on salaries for men and women is the same as in 1993 -- 13 percent on men and and four percent on women.

As in 1993, two percent of the expenses involve recruiting and scouting, with about 77 percent of that figure spent on men's sports.

In football, 69 percent of the responding Division I-A institutions reported a profit in that sport in 1995, up two percent from 1993. The average football profit for those reporting one was $3.9 million, up 0.6 percent. The percentage of I-A football programs where expenses exceeded revenues dropped from 33 to 30 percent, and the average deficit among those reporting a deficit declined to $969,000 (down five percent).

In men's basketball, 62 percent of the I-A respondents reported a profit, an increase from 57 percent two years ago. The size of the average profit (for those reporting a profit) in I-A men's basketball was $1.9 million, up 18.4 percent. The percentage of institutions operating at a deficit in men's basketball declined from 32 to 29 percent, and the average size of that deficit was essentially unchanged.

Although the numbers are still quite small, five institutions reported a profit from their women's basketball programs in 1995. That compares with only one in 1993. The average profit for those five institutions was $67,000, a $10,000 increase over 1993.

However, 91 percent of those responding reported that they are operating their women's basketball programs at a deficit, the average size of which is $459,000. In 1993, 95 percent operated at an average deficit of $373,000.

"Revenues and Expenses of Intercollegiate Athletics Programs" has been mailed to the Divisions I and II membership. A separate publication on Division III revenues and expenses also has been mailed.

The study was made by Daniel L. Fulks from the School of Accountancy at the University of Kentucky. Others who were involved were Janet Degginger, Washburn University of Topeka; Gary Fouraker, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Charlene Purvis, Wake Forest University; Steve Green, Northwestern University; John Schael, Washington University (Missouri); Susan Wachter, University of Kansas; Michael Walsh, Washington and Lee University; Helmut Werner, Randolph-Macon College; John Harvey, Carnegie Mellon University; and Linda Hopple, Middle Atlantic States Conference.