The Republican lawmaker who requested the report said it shows students and taxpayers are being asked to “subsidize an athletic spending arms race” at a time when tuition continues to rise and many are struggling with student loan debt.
“Students enroll to earn a degree, not to bankroll excessive athletic spending,” said Rep. Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan and chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee. “Institutions should focus on delivering value to students — not passing the costs of excessive athletics spending on to students, families, and taxpayers.”
The report found that in the 2023-2024 academic year, 94 percent of Division I programs “spent more money than they brought in from athletics.” Specifically, the report states, Division I programs spent a total of $20.8 billion on athletics, but most ran deficits between $11 million and $32 million.
The situation has worsened over the past decade. The report found that at Power conference schools, median spending grew by 81%, but revenue only grew by 56%.
“The biggest increases in spending were on coaching salaries and support staff pay,” the report states. “Even the lowest-spending Power conference school spent $14 million on coaches.”
To cover the losses, colleges contributed $7.2 billion in “institutional support” and also charged student athletic fees to non-athlete students that help fund athletic programs.
Over the course of a typical four-year degree, undergraduates contribute an estimated median of $3,200 in “athletic subsidies” at Power conference schools and about $11,000 at smaller Division I schools, the report found.
The report notes that colleges may consider various factors when they make decisions about how to fund their sports programs, such as how investment in athletics could affect student enrollment and the college’s brand. Prior research has found that applications tend to rise at schools when their sports teams win, but the application boost does not necessarily lead to a boost in enrollment.
The report comes at a time of heightened federal interest in college athletics on a variety of issues, such as the effects of the 2025 case known as the House settlement that permits Division I colleges to share up to $20.5 million with student-athletes.
Jamaal Abdul-Alim is a longtime education writer who resides in Washington, D.C. He occasionally teaches journalism and has completed fellowships at the University of Michigan, Columbia University and New America.
