When it comes to college sports, there is a huge divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the former get to spend a lot more on their teams.
Previously, we looked at the 23 schools with the highest college sports revenues. Below, we look at the schools that spend the most and how that money is allocated.
We used data made available by the US Department of Education and calculated the average total expenses for athletic programs over the three most recent years available, 2020 through 2022. Major costs include operating expenses, such as hosting a sporting event, salaries for coaches and support staff, recruiting, and facility improvements.
The most expensive program on campus is typically the football team, where schools make a lot of money off TV contracts and pump a lot of back into coaches and facilities, hoping to lure the top players. As a result, there is a huge economic divide between the men's and women's sports teams.
Of the 22 schools listed below, the average school spends $142 million on their sports teams. Nearly half, or about $65 million, is spent on men's teams, almost three times the $23 million on women's teams. The rest goes to non-gender-specific operating costs, facilities, and the occasional co-ed athletics team.