College athletics are all about money, and like the rest of the world, there are haves and have-nots. HBCUs, at the Division I level of the NCAA, are decidedly in the latter category.
USA Today released its finances report of public D1 schools last week and the results include a lot of data to analyze. It includes details of revenue and expenses. Going even further, it reveals reported ticket sales, licensing fees, contributions, school contributions and student fees.
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The HBCU with the most revenue was Prairie View A&M. PVAMU brought in $17.85 million in 2017, good for 150 on the list. While that number topped HBCUs, it was just under $200 million less than top-ranked Texas. The majority of that money, $10.12 million, came from the school itself. Student fees accounted for another $3 million of the budget.
The next highest spender, Alabama State, also hails from the SWAC. ASU reported revenue of $14.73 million, good for 178th among schools reporting. The bulk of that, $10.46 million, fell under “school funding.” That number includes athletic fees as it reported $0 in that category. It led the way in scholarship funding with a total of $5.3 million going to its student-athletes.
Norfolk State came in atop the MEAC with $13.65 million in revenue, good for 184th in the country. Nearly half came via student fees, $6.28 million, while another $4.2 million coming from school funding. Its ticket came in at just $427k but it held it down in licensing fees, coming up with $1.94 million, second among all HBCUs reporting.
Right on NSU’s heels was its neighbor from Durham. North Carolina Central actually made money according to the data. Well, sorta. NCCU reported revenues of $13.56 million while expenditures came to be $13.02 million. The school contributed $3.64 million on top of $4.66 million in student fees.
Rounding out the top five was Southern University. The Baton Rouge school pulled in $13.36 million, nearly $10 million came from school funds and student fees.
Other notable numbers:
North Carolina A&T reported the second highest overall ticket sales, with $1.16 million of its $13.07 million coming at the ticket gate. The school’s $7.39 million in student fees was the second highest among HBCUs. That represents an increase of over $3 million in that category since 2010.
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Morgan State took the cake in terms of student athletic fees. The overwhelming majority, $8.68 million, of its $11.02 million revenue came from its students.
FAMU came up with more outside contributions than anyone else, receiving over $1.4 million in this category. No one else topped a million, as the next closest was NCCU.
Jackson State was the top school in licensing revenue, pulling in over $2.2 million of the $9.46 million it generated. Coppin State came in last with $103k.
Alabama A&M reported the lowest revenue of all schools, pulling in $3.29 million while spending $9.64 million. It spent $3.43 million on scholarships, more than six other SWAC schools, including Grambling, Jackson State, and Southern.
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Do you know what the budgets are for each school?