NCAA Revenue Sharing – Field Hockey Teams

Estimated 2025-26 Revenue Sharing – Field Hockey 

Under the proposed settlement in House V NCAA, schools will be able to share revenue with their athletes not to exceed the lesser of 22% of their annual athletic revenues or $ 21 million per year. We analyzed the most recent NCAA financial reporting from several NCAA I public universities and arrived at some estimates for field hockey team revenue sharing scheduled to begin in the 2025-26 season:

Est Revenue Sharing
Field Hockey
ConferenceField Hockey
Revenue Share
# of
Players
Average
per player
Revenue %
Field Hockey
Est Revenue
Sharing 2025
Total 2023
Revenue *
Penn State Big Ten 40,744 26 1,567 0.2% 21,000,000 152,551,993
Ohio State Big Ten 16,372 27 606 0.1% 21,000,000 215,167,642
Appalachian State SBC 818 26 31 0.0% 3,626,477 16,483,988
LouisvilleACC - 23 - 0.0% 21,000,000 111,396,762
P5 School Average3 19,039 25 724 0.1% 21,000,000 159,705,466

Estimated revenue sharing is allocated per team based on the percentage of that team’s revenues to revenue from all sports as reported in the school’s most recent (2023) NCAA financial reporting. A significant variable here is athletic department revenue not allocated to a specific team.  Based on the NCAA reports this can be anywhere from 6% to 37% of school athletic department revenue. Our estimates assume this non-specific revenue will be allocated in the same proportion as the team’s revenue percentage to all sports.

Football and Men’s basketball account for close to 95% of all specific team allocated revenues at Power Conference schools, and athletes in these two sports will be the major beneficiaries of revenue sharing. Consequently, revenue sharing available to athletes in virtually all other sports will be minimal to modest at most schools. The NCAA and its member schools are well aware of this disparity and have consequently proposed to significantly increase the number of potential scholarships available to NCAA athletes.

For field hockey, the proposal is to increase the maximum number of athletic scholarships from 12 to 27 per team – this will also represent the limit of players on an NCAA I field hockey roster.  So in theory, all 27 players could receive a full scholarship. However, scholarships awards are optional – a school can fully fund a sport, or make awards less than the maximum allowed. 

* Computed Athletic Department revenue includes event tickets and admission fees, game guarantees, TV, media, licensing, advertising, sponsorships and royalty rights, bowl game, NCAA and conference distributions and all related revenues. Revenue does not include direct or indirect school support, student fees or unrecompensed (i.e. charitable) contributions to the athletic department from alumni and boosters.


Additions or Changes? Contact us at: [email protected]
 

Statistics compiled & edited by Patrick O’Rourke, CPA Washington, DC