Finances

The NCAA is listed as a 501c non-profit. This means that the NCAA does not pay any taxes on the revenue that it makes. The primary source of the NCAA's revenue is from the March Madness Men's Basketball Tournament television contract with Turner Broadcasting and CBS Sports, which totals $10.8 billion through 2024. The NCAA also makes money on the sale of tickets and apparel from it's championships, totaling an additional $123.5 million. They get minimal revenue from sources such as membership dues from institutions and conferences. The NCAA only has the rights to post-season games. ie. College Football Playoff, Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament. It is up to conferences and/or individual teams to negotiate their own TV deals for the regular season.

According to the NCAA ninety percent of the revenue it makes goes to the student-athletes. This is done in a number of ways, from putting on championships, official training, the creation of an emergency fund to help students with unexpected circumstances, ie. travel costs due to having to attend a funeral, direct money given back to member institutions and conferences, grants, catastrophic-injury assistance and student programs, ie. Alcohol EDU.

But where does Scranton fit into this? The University of Scranton is a member of the NCAA Division III athletics and the Landmark Conference. 75% of the NCAA DIII operating budget is used to organize the 28 DIII National Championships. The remaining 25% of the budget goes to conferences and institutions. This means that Scranton (and DIII schools in general) gets minimal assistance from the NCAA. Due to this, the Athletic Department is funded institutionally, meaning through tuition and other sources. In addition, the department was able to raise over $300,000 through fundraising this year. DIII schools cannot offer scholarships. This is because of the limited revenue schools make. Some institutions with larger endowments would then have an unfair advantage. No scholarships helps to level the playing field for all the member schools.

*An Important Note: $9.15 billion is often cited as the total revenue for college sports, which is true. But, that is for the whole of college sports, meaning all the institutions and the NCAA. The NCAA's revenue is about a billion dollars each year, meaning the other $8.15 billion is made by member institutions, primarily all from the top DI schools. Just because an institution is DI does not mean they are raking in money. The top DI schools have significant advantages when it comes to facilities, meaning they have a significant advantage in recruiting, leading to certain schools dominating sports consistently. ie. Duke and UNC in men's basketball, UCONN in women's basketball, and Alabama in football.

Sources:

Frank Pallotta, “NCAA Extends March Madness TV Deal with Turner, CBS until 2032.” CNN, Published Apr. 12th, 2016, Accessed Dec. 1st, 2017, http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/12/media/ncaa-march-madness-turner-cbs/index.html

“Finances,” NCAA, Accessed Dec. 1st, 2017, http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/finances

Martin, Dave. Interview with Colin Sommers, Matthew Sayuk, Jack Rickard. Personal interview, taped. Dec. 1st, 2017.

“Division III Finances,” NCAA, Accessed Dec. 1st, 2017, http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/finances?division=d3

Cork Gaines, “The difference in how much money schools make off of college sports is jarring, and it is the biggest obstacle to paying athletes” Published Oct. 14th, 2016, Accessed Dec. 2nd, 2017, http://www.businessinsider.com/ncaa-schools-college-sports-revenue-2016-10