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More football-playing colleges are cutting back on costs and turning profits, too.
The latest NCAA annual report on revenue and expenses shows that 22 Football Bowl Subdivision schools made money in 2009-10, eight more than the previous year, and that schools in both Division I football subdivisions have figured out how to halt a rapid increase in expenses.
The report was released Wednesday, two days after NCAA President Mark Emmert announced he would hold a retreat later this summer to discuss the fiscal sustainability of athletic departments with about 50 university leaders.
The report isn't all good news for the schools.
Emmert is concerned the balance in college sports could be jeopardized by a growing gap between schools with self-sufficient athletic departments and those that rely on school subsidies to fund sports programs.
''That gap in revenue, either from self-generated or institutionally allocated sources, is significant,'' Emmert said in a statement posted on the NCAA website. ''Indeed, it is coming to redefine what we mean by competitive equity. This will undoubtedly be a discussion point at the August presidential retreat.''
The report shows an increasing financial disparity between those with lots of money and those trying to find money.
The median net surplus of the 22 moneymaking athletic departments was roughly $7.4 million, while the median net deficit for the other 98 FBS schools was $11.3 million. The gap of $18.7 million is much higher than the $15.6 million difference in last year's report.
Schools that play football, however, generally appear to be making more money to fund their programs. The findings show:
- After adjusting for inflation, total expenses for FBS schools increased by 1 percent in 2009-10 over the previous year and decreased by 8 percent at Football Championship Subdivision schools. Division I schools without football had a 9 percent increase in expenses.
- Median revenues for FBS schools increased by 9.5 percent and jumped 14 percent for FCS schools. Non-football schools saw revenue drop by 5.1 percent.
- Overall, the median revenue for FBS schools was about $48.3 million, compared with FCS schools ($13,189,000) and non-football schools ($11,077,000).
- The net operating results show FBS schools are losing nearly $9.5 million on average, compared with FCS schools that are losing slightly more than $9.1 million and non-football schools at approximately $8.6 million.
- In all three NCAA divisions, total athletic department expenditures continue to hold at about 5 percent of the share of a school's overall budget. That number that drops to 1 percent among FBS schools and 4 percent at FCS schools and those without football when net deficits, rather than overall expenses, are part of the equation.
The report also shows that nearly half of all Division I athletic expenses are derived from salaries and benefits for coaches and administrators or scholarships given to players.
