FCS Schools

Estimated NCAA Revenue Sharing 2025-26: FCS Schools

There are 129 FCS programs, of which 41 schools have indicated they are not opting into revenue sharing, resulting in 88 schools that are presumably participating in 2025-26:

FCS Conference Schools 2025-26	Total # of Schools	Opting out	Participating in Revenue Sharing
Big Sky	12	6	6
Coastal	14	-	14
Ivy League	8	8	-
Mid-Eastern	6	-	6
Missouri Valley	10	-	10
Northeast	9	8	1
OVC-Big South	9	5	4
Patriot	8	8	-
Pioneer	11	-	11
Southern	9	2	7
Southland	10	2	8
Southwestern	12	-	12
United	9	2	7
FCS Independent	2	-	2
FCS Totals	129	41	88

The average 2024 operating revenue for FCS schools was around $ 5 million annually resulting in a projected revenue sharing commitment of about $ 1.1 million per school. This assumes all participating schools are adopting the 22% NCAA revenue sharing benchmark:

Estimated Revenue Sharing FCS Schools 2025-26		Revenue Share %	Team / Sport Allocation ($)	Eligible Athletes	Average per Athlete ($)
Football		40%	454,132	105	4,325
Men's Basketball		19%	215,713	15	14,381
All Other Sports		41%	465,486	286	1,628
FCS School Averages		100.0%	$ 1,135,331	406	$ 2,796

Estimates are based on team specific 2024 revenues as reported to the NCAA. These are averages per athlete, a few players per team will receive substantially higher than average and most will likely receive less. Schools can make revenue sharing payments at any percentage of revenue as long as total payments do not exceed the $ 20.5 million cap for 2025-26. 

Annual Operating Expenses – FCS schools 2022-24:

Per 2024 EADA reporting, average annual athletic department operating costs were $ 25 million for FCS schools, a 17% increase in expenses over a 2-year span:

Average Annual Expenses FCS Conference Schools *	# of Schools	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Big Sky	12	26,688,625	24,603,740	22,418,932	19%
Coastal	14	31,089,823	30,141,933	28,801,862	8%
Ivy League	8	48,564,251	44,005,921	39,403,949	23%
Mid-Eastern	6	18,251,422	15,974,993	13,488,891	35%
Missouri Valley	10	24,666,265	23,168,338	21,136,657	17%
Northeast	9	21,976,928	20,290,464	18,776,890	17%
OVC-Big South	9	17,032,740	14,946,929	14,535,000	17%
Patriot	8	41,476,317	41,290,936	35,823,031	16%
Pioneer	11	24,482,556	22,965,437	20,366,768	20%
Southern	9	23,002,019	22,216,448	20,601,561	12%
Southland	10	18,924,074	17,544,300	16,310,627	16%
Southwestern	12	11,682,478	11,410,880	10,635,091	10%
United	9	20,326,210	18,052,449	15,716,885	29%
FCS Independent	2	35,858,023	32,806,092	29,127,444	23%
Average per School	129	25,143,507	23,544,979	21,442,316	17%

* Expenses per Equity in Athletics Act (EADA) annual reporting. These results are comparable to NCAA membership reporting with one primary exception – EADA reporting does not include payments made for athletic facilities debt service and leases. This results in EADA operating expenses being about 7% lower than NCAA reporting on average. However, one key advantage of EADA reporting is that the data includes all schools, while NCAA financial reporting is typically available only for public universities. See our methodology page for more detail and disclosures.

Annual Operating Expenses – Big Sky schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
UC Davis	Big Sky	Big West	46,626,686	40,571,193	34,863,428	34%
Cal Poly	Big Sky	Big West	35,298,634	30,710,336	27,857,623	27%
Sacramento State	Big Sky	Big Sky	33,323,561	34,284,776	35,004,648	-5%
Northern Arizona	Big Sky	Big Sky	29,460,146	22,619,926	22,649,615	30%
Montana State	Big Sky	Big Sky	28,597,087	28,589,654	26,119,361	9%
Montana	Big Sky	Big Sky	28,044,922	23,951,594	22,283,988	26%
Idaho	Big Sky	Big Sky	24,112,825	23,141,397	17,610,083	37%
Northern Colorado	Big Sky	Big Sky	21,711,259	20,171,855	18,798,907	15%
Eastern Washington	Big Sky	Big Sky	20,082,060	19,263,928	15,915,979	26%
Weber State	Big Sky	Big Sky	18,284,425	17,889,271	17,080,383	7%
Portland State	Big Sky	Big Sky	17,520,602	18,490,681	16,160,889	8%
Idaho State	Big Sky	Big Sky	17,201,288	15,560,263	14,682,279	17%
Average per School			26,688,625	24,603,740	22,418,932	19%

Annual Operating Expenses – Coastal Athletic schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Villanova	Coastal	Big East	60,998,084	58,703,280	62,676,852	-3%
Stony Brook	Coastal	Coastal	40,755,628	36,810,655	32,721,332	25%
Rhode Island	Coastal	Atlantic 10	37,039,351	35,110,510	28,012,651	32%
Elon	Coastal	Coastal	35,793,576	33,613,892	30,690,272	17%
New Hampshire	Coastal	America East	34,986,719	35,261,617	31,245,488	12%
Monmouth	Coastal	Coastal	32,787,685	30,565,748	30,151,277	9%
William & Mary	Coastal	Coastal	30,794,145	34,044,814	27,447,196	12%
Campbell	Coastal	Coastal	30,779,783	30,027,747	27,956,135	10%
Towson	Coastal	Coastal	27,431,821	27,643,056	26,258,297	4%
Bryant	Coastal	America East	27,042,228	24,327,303	23,746,913	14%
Albany	Coastal	America East	22,862,969	21,504,447	21,102,758	8%
Maine	Coastal	America East	20,148,241	26,711,496	24,213,545	-17%
North Carolina A & T	Coastal	Coastal	18,007,107	16,374,848	26,766,137	-33%
Hampton	Coastal	Coastal	15,830,182	11,287,652	10,237,217	55%
Average per School			31,089,823	30,141,933	28,801,862	8%

 

Annual Operating Expenses – Ivy League schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Yale	Ivy League	Ivy League	77,124,108	72,430,360	66,265,805	16%
Penn	Ivy League	Ivy League	56,137,691	46,277,380	44,747,142	25%
Princeton	Ivy League	Ivy League	47,797,015	44,300,839	37,118,165	29%
Harvard	Ivy League	Ivy League	43,636,552	39,568,660	32,850,494	33%
Brown	Ivy League	Ivy League	42,236,049	36,265,052	29,892,746	41%
Cornell	Ivy League	Ivy League	40,756,322	36,227,301	36,812,888	11%
Dartmouth	Ivy League	Ivy League	40,640,949	38,642,041	35,022,406	16%
Columbia	Ivy League	Ivy League	40,185,323	38,335,736	32,521,946	24%
Average per School			48,564,251	44,005,921	39,403,949	23%

 

Annual Operating Expenses – Mid-Eastern schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Howard	Mid-Eastern	Mid-Eastern	23,646,782	19,119,613	15,949,053	48%
Norfolk State	Mid-Eastern	Mid-Eastern	21,939,879	17,340,285	16,048,768	37%
Morgan State	Mid-Eastern	Mid-Eastern	21,666,097	19,470,158	14,924,648	45%
Delaware State	Mid-Eastern	Mid-Eastern	16,266,754	15,986,336	13,786,304	18%
South Carolina State	Mid-Eastern	Mid-Eastern	13,516,308	12,905,128	6,894,365	96%
North Carolina Central	Mid-Eastern	Mid-Eastern	12,472,714	11,028,437	13,330,206	-6%
Average per School			18,251,422	15,974,993	13,488,891	35%

Annual Operating Expenses – Missouri Valley schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
North Dakota	Missouri Valley	Summit League	31,552,730	29,038,127	26,449,160	19%
Illinois State	Missouri Valley	Missouri Valley	30,786,532	29,781,160	29,834,680	3%
North Dakota State	Missouri Valley	Summit League	30,251,922	29,824,792	26,554,998	14%
Southern Illinois	Missouri Valley	Missouri Valley	28,355,917	23,715,044	21,513,903	32%
South Dakota State	Missouri Valley	Summit League	26,424,829	24,184,193	20,184,851	31%
Youngstown State	Missouri Valley	Horizon League	21,696,473	20,275,708	17,773,159	22%
South Dakota	Missouri Valley	Summit League	21,548,929	19,665,874	18,536,056	16%
Indiana State	Missouri Valley	Missouri Valley	19,636,625	18,886,035	17,837,547	10%
Murray State	Missouri Valley	Missouri Valley	19,402,490	18,977,450	15,380,799	26%
Northern Iowa	Missouri Valley	Missouri Valley	17,006,201	17,334,994	17,301,412	-2%
Average per School			24,666,265	23,168,338	21,136,657	17%

Annual Operating Expenses – Northeast schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Long Island	Northeast	Northeast	46,592,675	42,527,621	35,913,518	30%
Duquesne	Northeast	Atlantic 10	28,802,065	26,560,156	24,476,457	18%
Wagner	Northeast	Northeast	22,415,885	22,026,021	19,962,200	12%
Robert Morris	Northeast	Horizon League	21,120,272	17,641,388	17,107,726	23%
Saint Francis	Northeast	Northeast	17,546,269	17,308,120	18,527,980	-5%
Mercyhurst	Northeast	Northeast	17,122,705	16,551,819	17,233,457	-1%
Stonehill	Northeast	Northeast	17,026,091	12,196,426	9,824,209	73%
Central Connecticut	Northeast	Northeast	15,396,494	16,873,996	16,043,570	-4%
New Haven	Northeast	Northeast	11,769,900	10,928,629	9,902,891	19%
Average per School			21,976,928	20,290,464	18,776,890	17%

 

Annual Operating Expenses – OVC-Big South schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Lindenwood	OVC-Big South	Ohio Valley	22,466,359	19,951,519	15,835,538	42%
Tennessee State	OVC-Big South	Ohio Valley	20,340,661	18,552,022	15,883,558	28%
Eastern Illinois	OVC-Big South	Ohio Valley	19,027,915	13,853,180	14,189,553	34%
Tennessee Tech	OVC-Big South	Ohio Valley	18,279,402	16,474,801	14,993,218	22%
Southeast Missouri State	OVC-Big South	Ohio Valley	15,758,389	15,072,513	12,259,063	29%
UT Martin	OVC-Big South	Ohio Valley	15,320,815	15,151,104	14,674,750	4%
Gardner-Webb	OVC-Big South	Big South	14,245,572	13,954,647	18,034,155	-21%
Charleston Southern	OVC-Big South	Big South	14,027,849	13,327,550	13,265,320	6%
Western Illinois	OVC-Big South	Ohio Valley	13,827,702	8,185,022	11,679,844	18%
Average per School			17,032,740	14,946,929	14,535,000	17%

 

Annual Operating Expenses – Patriot League schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Georgetown	Patriot	Big East	58,357,795	68,972,755	47,075,217	24%
Richmond	Patriot	Atlantic 10	47,266,585	42,197,648	38,071,357	24%
Fordham	Patriot	Atlantic 10	44,514,033	43,971,302	39,567,321	13%
Lehigh	Patriot	Patriot	42,935,424	41,551,436	38,354,154	12%
Colgate	Patriot	Patriot	38,308,822	37,239,028	33,131,165	16%
Bucknell	Patriot	Patriot	35,248,867	33,643,542	30,616,265	15%
Holy Cross	Patriot	Patriot	32,804,880	32,819,968	32,165,774	2%
Lafayette	Patriot	Patriot	32,374,130	29,931,805	27,602,995	17%
Average per School			41,476,317	41,290,936	35,823,031	16%

 

Annual Operating Expenses – Pioneer League schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Dayton	Pioneer	Atlantic 10	43,705,495	40,104,753	34,043,542	28%
Butler	Pioneer	Big East	34,050,834	31,474,736	30,540,635	11%
San Diego	Pioneer	West Coast	32,342,967	34,031,237	27,454,065	18%
St Thomas	Pioneer	Summit League	25,339,821	22,370,292	17,812,586	42%
Stetson	Pioneer	ASUN	24,996,531	24,128,723	22,231,102	12%
Marist	Pioneer	Metro Atlantic	22,301,262	21,541,298	19,211,495	16%
Drake	Pioneer	Missouri Valley	21,791,106	19,927,305	18,731,990	16%
Davidson	Pioneer	Atlantic 10	21,575,464	21,612,891	20,086,092	7%
Valparaiso	Pioneer	Missouri Valley	16,335,955	15,903,955	13,605,002	20%
Presbyterian	Pioneer	Big South	13,975,515	12,175,117	11,391,677	23%
Morehead State	Pioneer	Ohio Valley	12,893,166	9,349,505	8,926,259	44%
Average per School			24,482,556	22,965,437	20,366,768	20%

Annual Operating Expenses – Southern schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Furman	Southern	Southern	31,927,207	31,040,151	27,935,226	14%
Wofford College	Southern	Southern	29,366,387	27,302,198	24,126,537	22%
Mercer	Southern	Southern	28,868,884	26,313,037	22,988,577	26%
Chattanooga	Southern	Southern	22,508,082	22,033,838	21,051,127	7%
Samford	Southern	Southern	22,198,478	21,240,463	23,019,673	-4%
East Tennessee State	Southern	Southern	19,811,089	19,245,116	16,962,436	17%
VMI	Southern	Southern	19,155,089	17,878,292	16,111,604	19%
The Citadel	Southern	Southern	17,130,667	19,526,622	18,050,296	-5%
Western Carolina	Southern	Southern	16,052,292	15,368,314	15,168,575	6%
Average per School			23,002,019	22,216,448	20,601,561	12%

 

Annual Operating Expenses – Southland schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Incarnate Word	Southland	Southland	24,959,864	24,544,713	21,572,547	16%
Stephen F Austin	Southland	Southland	23,836,563	24,962,955	24,125,257	-1%
Lamar	Southland	Southland	23,698,410	21,287,614	18,854,200	26%
Houston Christian	Southland	Southland	20,045,332	20,167,919	18,468,274	9%
Texas Rio Grande Valley	Southland	Southland	20,007,469	15,997,018	14,186,649	41%
East Texas A & M	Southland	Southland	17,433,995	15,344,594	14,911,268	17%
Southeastern Louisiana	Southland	Southland	17,404,468	15,750,278	14,695,241	18%
McNeese State	Southland	Southland	16,868,726	14,926,562	13,315,504	27%
Nicholls State	Southland	Southland	12,953,173	11,658,725	11,164,755	16%
Northwestern State	Southland	Southland	12,032,739	10,802,623	11,812,575	2%
Average per School			18,924,074	17,544,300	16,310,627	16%

 

Annual Operating Expenses – Southwestern schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Prairie View A & M	Southwestern	Southwestern	15,374,541	14,818,343	14,818,343	4%
Alabama State	Southwestern	Southwestern	14,050,365	14,444,678	12,029,739	17%
Grambling	Southwestern	Southwestern	14,014,943	12,689,321	11,899,236	18%
Bethune-Cookman	Southwestern	Southwestern	13,657,290	13,636,502	11,240,265	22%
Southern A & M	Southwestern	Southwestern	13,026,700	13,435,629	11,736,621	11%
Alabama A & M	Southwestern	Southwestern	12,639,752	11,320,919	10,944,813	15%
Florida A & M	Southwestern	Southwestern	12,122,966	13,112,757	11,897,185	2%
Jackson State	Southwestern	Southwestern	11,948,835	9,967,698	10,993,335	9%
Texas Southern	Southwestern	Southwestern	11,075,651	12,832,306	13,362,715	-17%
Arkansas - Pine Bluff	Southwestern	Southwestern	9,236,849	8,954,338	8,498,420	9%
Alcorn State	Southwestern	Southwestern	7,695,116	6,924,619	6,159,502	25%
Mississippi Valley State	Southwestern	Southwestern	5,346,725	4,793,446	4,040,915	32%
Average per School			11,682,478	11,410,880	10,635,091	10%

Annual Operating Expenses – United Athletic schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Tarleton State	United	Western Athletic	27,686,274	21,124,971	18,230,602	52%
Austin Peay	United	ASUN	25,678,171	22,249,063	16,365,007	57%
Abilene Christian	United	Western Athletic	25,509,417	23,809,978	21,201,476	20%
Eastern Kentucky	United	ASUN	25,201,223	23,088,272	19,150,403	32%
Utah Tech	United	Western Athletic	18,137,527	16,250,328	13,987,948	30%
Southern Utah	United	Western Athletic	18,133,901	16,543,527	15,575,462	16%
Central Arkansas	United	ASUN	16,831,604	15,186,832	14,616,307	15%
North Alabama	United	ASUN	15,423,738	13,955,756	12,104,040	27%
West Georgia	United	ASUN	10,334,036	10,263,310	10,220,717	1%
Average per School			20,326,210	18,052,449	15,716,885	29%

 

Annual Operating Expenses – FCS Independent schools 2022-24:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	Football Conference	Basketball Conference	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase
Sacred Heart	Independent	Metro Atlantic	41,021,209	36,865,165	31,970,299	28%
Merrimack	Independent	Metro Atlantic	30,694,837	28,747,018	26,284,588	17%
Average per School			35,858,023	32,806,092	29,127,444	23%

 

Questions on our data? Contact us at: NIL-NCAA.com

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