The D1 Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament takes place every March (commonly referred to as March Madness). A large portion of the population turns their attention to creating and betting on brackets. This tournament is probably the NCAA's biggest example of contradiction as across advertising platforms they tout their restriction on any type of sports gambling (all employees of an athletics department are restricted from gambling on any sport the NCAA sponsors at any level), while on the NCAA website there is a bracket competition. And the NCAA makes nearly 80% of their revenue by encouraging people to bet on their game.
It's obvious there's a lot of money being moved around in NCAA Athletics. To decide whether these revenue and expense streams should be adjusted to pay student-athletes, it's important to understand the current state of NCAA finances. These numbers come directly from the NCAA Website. A major consideration in these numbers is that the FBS College Football Playoffs and all of the bowl games are not actually operated by the NCAA. As a result, the NCAA spends nothing on these games and receives none of the profit. The College Football Playoffs is actually a separate operation bringing in more money than the Men's Basketball Championship and distributing directly to the conferences involved in the playoff committee. Click on each dollar amount to learn more.
The NCAA sponsors 90 NCAA championships and claims only 5 of these make a profit. The 5 profitable championships are all D1, men's sports including: Men's Basketball, Men's Ice Hockey, Men's Lacrosse, Wrestling, and Baseball.
The D1 College Football Playoffs and all of the bowl games are run independently of the NCAA, so the NCAA does not fund nor receive revenue from these games.
Distributed to Division I schools to help fund NCAA sports and provide scholarships for college athletes.
Distributed to Division I conferences and independent schools based on their performance in the men’s basketball tournament over a six-year rolling period. The money is used to fund NCAA sports and provide scholarships for college athletes.
Provides college athletes the opportunity to compete for a championship and includes support for team travel, food and lodging.
Includes support for Association-wide legal services, communications and business insurance.
Distributed to Division I student-athletes for essential needs that arise during their time in college.
Includes funding for catastrophic injury insurance, drug testing, student-athlete leadership programs, postgraduate scholarships and additional Association-wide championships support.
Distributed equally among Division I basketball-playing conferences that meet athletic and academic standards to play in the men's basketball tournament. The money is used to fund NCAA sports and provide scholarships for college athletes.
Distributed to Division I schools to assist with academic programs and services.
Funds the day-to-day operations of the NCAA national office, including administrative and financial services, information technology and facilities management.
Funds championships, grants and other initiatives for Division II college athletes.
Covers costs related to NCAA governance committees and the annual NCAA Convention.
Funds championships, grants and other initiatives for Division III college athletes.
Distributed to Division I conferences for programs that enhance officiating, compliance, minority opportunities and more.
Supports varous educational services for members to help prepare student-athletes for life, including the Women Coaches Academy, the Emerging Leaders Seminars and the Pathway Program.