Finances of College Sports

In an effort to strengthen financial transparency, inform policy development, and ensure that athletics programs are operating within the educational mission of their institutions, the Knight Commission produces resources about the finances of Division I college sports programs, the NCAA, and the College Football Playoff.

RESOURCES

Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database

The Commission partners with Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications to produce the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database. This user-friendly tool provides comprehensive athletics revenue and spending data self-reported by more than 230+ NCAA Division I institutions.

 

Follow the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database via social media: @NewhouseSU and #KnightNewhouseData.

 

Overview of Division I Athletic Department Finances

Below are data and graphs from the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database that describe “Where the Money Comes From” (Revenues) and “Where the Money Goes” (Expenses), in Division I college sports):

An additional informative resource produced by the Knight Commission is how generated revenue has changed since 2005 and is projected to change going forward:

Resource on FBS Football Coaches Severance Pay

The Knight Commission began tracking football coaching severance pay when data showed the growth of these lucrative severance packages were far outpacing growth in other expenses. The 2023 data revealed that severance pay for football coaches tripled after the College Football Playoff began in 2015. Access the summary here:

College Football Playoff Finances

The College Football Playoff (CFP) is managed independent of the NCAA by College Football Playoff Administration, LLC. Below is information about the CFP’s revenue distribution and proposed changes recommended by the Knight Commission:

  • Revenue Distribution Explanation (Source: CFP website)
  • In 2020, the Knight Commission recommended that CFP revenues fund a new entity to govern FBS football (see 2020 report). As an alternative approach, the Commission recommends that the CFP revenues cover the national expenses for the sport of FBS football, currently covered by the NCAA non-FBS football revenues (see related presentations below)
  • College Football Playoff (CFP) Distributions  2019  | 2017

Related Presentations