| Conference Members | 2026-27 | 2025-26 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | |
|
| Appalachian State | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Arkansas State | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Georgia State | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| James Madison | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Louisiana - Lafayette | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Louisiana - Monroe | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Louisiana Tech | Sun Belt | CUSA | ||
| Marshall | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Old Dominion | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| South Alabama | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Southern Mississippi | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Troy | Sun Belt | Sun Belt | ||
| Texas State | Pac-12 | Sun Belt | ||
| Total Members | 14 | 14 |
2025 Operating Results: Sun Belt Conference Schools
Per NCAA reporting, Sun Belt Conference schools averaged a net operating loss of $ 35 million per school in 2025. These losses were funded by booster contributions averaging $ 5 million per school and combined school support and student fees averaging $ 28 million per school:
2025 Operating Results ($) Sun Belt Conference Schools | Operating Revenue | Operating Expenses | Operating Loss 2025 | Booster Contributions | Student Fees & School Support | Endowment & Investment | Surplus (Deficit) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | 18,539,647 | 57,271,283 | - 38,731,636 | 9,421,144 | 29,114,103 | 184,467 | - 11,922 | |
| Arkansas State | 11,256,620 | 45,805,050 | - 34,548,430 | 4,177,117 | 30,371,313 | - | - | |
| Coastal Carolina | 7,884,268 | 50,197,707 | - 42,313,439 | 2,073,141 | 40,629,811 | 38,612 | 428,125 | |
| Georgia Southern | 10,573,913 | 44,905,774 | - 34,331,861 | 10,523,311 | 22,661,204 | 165,413 | - 981,33 | |
| Georgia State | 10,093,073 | 39,979,520 | - 29,886,447 | 3,020,752 | 26,703,599 | 31,863 | - 130,233 | |
| James Madison | 12,117,656 | 78,640,115 | - 66,522,459 | 6,187,819 | 60,334,640 | - | - | |
| Louisiana Lafayette | 9,737,508 | 46,393,046 | - 36,655,538 | 4,004,532 | 19,306,881 | 47,700 | - 13,296,425 | |
| Louisiana Monroe | 8,233,105 | 23,570,365 | - 15,337,260 | 2,292,041 | 11,465,179 | 1 | - 1,580,039 | |
| Louisiana Tech | 8,091,328 | 36,969,559 | - 28,878,231 | 5,473,118 | 11,196,917 | 71,594 | - 12,136,602 | |
| Marshall | 15,266,309 | 49,630,104 | - 34,363,795 | 8,682,921 | 23,877,082 | 609,224 | - 1,194,568 | |
| Old Dominion | 15,690,032 | 60,855,261 | - 45,165,229 | 8,318,266 | 34,455,927 | - | - 2,391,036 | |
| South Alabama | 8,712,241 | 38,275,528 | - 29,563,287 | 2,163,665 | 25,318,430 | - | - 2,081,192 | |
| Southern Miss | 9,951,544 | 35,789,084 | - 25,837,540 | 5,718,878 | 20,053,111 | 128,980 | 63,429 | |
| Troy | 5,758,959 | 38,090,957 | - 32,331,998 | 1,305,011 | 31,437,027 | - | 410,040 | |
| Average per School ($) | 10,850,443 | 46,169,525 | - 35,319,082 | 5,240,123 | 27,637,516 | 91,275 | - 2,350,168 |
And these losses are before Revenue Sharing and additional scholarships adds additional costs this year. The bottom line is a school has to come up with money from somewhere to pay for all this red ink. Last year James Madison recorded a $ 66 million operating loss of which only $ 6 million was covered by booster contributions, leaving $ 60 million to be picked up the school and its students. This deficit was funded almost entirely by $ 58 million in student fees … by far the highest in all of college sports. With operating costs continuing to increase, where is the additional funding going to come from? Most people would agree that it’s not a good look for schools to ratchet up student fees paid by middle-income families in order to pay teen-age football and basketball players millions of dollars. Not trying to pick on James Madison here … Rutgers and a number of other schools’ numbers are worse.
2025 Operating Revenues: Sun Belt Conference Schools
Operating Revenues are sources of income received from exchange transactions. This is distinct from athletic department support such as booster contributions, student fees and school funding. This distinction is important when evaluating an organization’s ability to meet expenses.
2025 Operating Revenues ($) Sun Belt Conference Schools | Total Revenue | Ticket Sales | Game Guarantees | Conference, Media & NCAA | Licenses & Sponsorships | Other Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | 18,539,647 | 6,739,401 | 2,055,176 | 3,054,982 | 3,829,340 | 2,860,748 |
| Arkansas State | 11,256,620 | 1,179,047 | 1,989,116 | 2,886,220 | 278,656 | 4,923,581 |
| Coastal Carolina | 7,884,268 | 1,580,097 | 374,800 | 3,301,522 | 1,409,921 | 1,217,928 |
| Georgia Southern | 10,573,913 | 2,398,082 | 1,947,586 | 3,014,029 | 1,592,217 | 1,621,999 |
| Georgia State | 10,093,073 | 460,285 | 1,617,095 | 2,841,671 | 2,689,383 | 2,484,639 |
| James Madison | 12,117,656 | 4,944,918 | 676,584 | 4,129,802 | 1,760,815 | 605,537 |
| Louisiana Lafayette | 9,737,508 | 1,934,322 | 1,528,000 | 4,771,732 | 398,883 | 1,104,571 |
| Louisiana Monroe | 8,233,105 | 587,569 | 3,661,000 | 2,813,774 | 841,376 | 329,386 |
| Louisiana Tech | 8,091,328 | 1,112,234 | 2,148,000 | 3,565,256 | 655,249 | 610,589 |
| Marshall | 15,266,309 | 3,516,155 | 2,189,460 | 3,222,897 | 3,277,739 | 3,060,058 |
| Old Dominion | 15,690,032 | 4,269,627 | 1,823,000 | 2,904,380 | 3,956,783 | 2,736,242 |
| South Alabama | 8,712,241 | 1,376,064 | 1,608,500 | 3,368,618 | 1,601,369 | 757,690 |
| Southern Miss | 9,951,544 | 3,268,088 | 2,169,500 | 2,899,580 | 684,102 | 930,274 |
| Troy | 5,758,959 | 708,693 | 1,998,900 | 2,251,448 | 620,660 | 179,258 |
| Average per School ($) | 10,850,443 | 2,433,899 | 1,841,908 | 3,216,137 | 1,685,464 | 1,673,036 |
2025 Operating Expenses: Sun Belt Conference Schools
Operating expenses are expected to increase significantly in 2026 due to impact of revenue sharing and increased scholarship limits for all sports.
2025 Operating Expenses ($) Sun Belt Conference Schools | Total Expenses | Coaching Salaries | Admin Salaries | Athletic Scholarships | Game Guarantees | Travel, Uniforms & game costs | Facilities, overhead & administration | Recruiting | Athlete Medical, Meals & Benefits | Severance Payments | Other Expenses |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | 57,271,283 | 8,719,226 | 8,940,102 | 6,933,297 | 379,393 | 9,250,938 | 15,584,813 | 1,018,187 | 2,987,089 | 870,572 | 2,587,666 | ||
| Arkansas State | 45,805,050 | 6,517,210 | 4,896,876 | 7,364,982 | 682,213 | 9,223,124 | 5,554,926 | 1,050,732 | 3,588,835 | - | 6,926,152 | ||
| Coastal Carolina | 50,197,707 | 10,780,240 | 7,981,276 | 10,880,062 | 498,931 | 7,138,359 | 7,022,014 | 1,012,907 | 1,168,937 | 354,083 | 3,360,898 | ||
| Georgia Southern | 44,905,774 | 8,077,277 | 7,574,940 | 9,508,314 | 372,365 | 6,065,870 | 5,220,478 | 418,365 | 1,361,403 | - | 6,306,762 | ||
| Georgia State | 39,979,520 | 7,697,217 | 5,985,217 | 9,253,238 | 624,188 | 5,605,393 | 5,520,514 | 587,630 | 992,244 | 139,320 | 3,574,559 | ||
| James Madison | 78,640,115 | 10,655,351 | 12,866,863 | 11,321,170 | 868,129 | 9,119,153 | 23,407,448 | 1,073,273 | 1,983,107 | 14,305 | 7,331,316 | ||
| Louisiana Lafayette | 46,393,046 | 8,819,190 | 7,523,864 | 8,826,220 | 684,295 | 7,235,001 | 5,900,749 | 797,321 | 2,505,271 | 257,600 | 3,843,535 | ||
| Louisiana Monroe | 23,570,365 | 5,185,901 | 2,972,475 | 5,399,403 | 668,261 | 4,952,546 | 1,287,705 | 336,396 | 1,282,568 | - | 1,485,110 | ||
| Louisiana Tech | 36,969,559 | 6,924,005 | 5,296,566 | 5,921,986 | 737,931 | 5,862,569 | 4,482,141 | 813,233 | 2,059,889 | 83,242 | 4,787,997 | ||
| Marshall | 49,630,104 | 7,832,689 | 6,407,778 | 7,859,315 | 933,000 | 9,577,318 | 8,193,545 | 809,148 | 2,210,440 | - | 5,806,871 | ||
| Old Dominion | 60,855,261 | 9,781,559 | 9,149,182 | 11,869,200 | 388,640 | 7,220,594 | 16,193,078 | 987,420 | 1,398,346 | - | 3,867,242 | ||
| South Alabama | 38,275,528 | 9,133,083 | 5,653,863 | 7,899,489 | 644,631 | 4,392,738 | 5,411,515 | 823,985 | 1,674,716 | - | 2,641,508 | ||
| Southern Miss | 35,789,084 | 7,452,691 | 5,299,092 | 6,615,615 | 480,926 | 6,425,828 | 5,822,962 | 815,871 | 716,366 | 901,477 | 1,258,256 | ||
| Troy | 38,090,957 | 9,299,340 | 2,904,975 | 6,554,484 | 608,040 | 2,732,632 | 10,903,689 | 548,327 | 1,469,601 | - | 3,069,869 | ||
| Average per School ($) | 46,169,525 | 8,348,213 | 6,675,219 | 8,300,484 | 612,210 | 6,771,576 | 8,607,541 | 792,343 | 1,814,201 | 187,186 | 4,060,552 |
EADA Operating Expenses: Sun Belt Conference Schools 2022-25:
Per EADA (aka Title IX) reporting, average 2025 athletic department operating costs were $ 41 million for Conference USA schools, a 25% increase in expenses over a 3-year span:
Athletic Department
Annual Expenses *FY 2025 ($) FY 2024 ($) FY 2023 ($) FY 2022 ($) 3-year %
Increase
Appalachian State 44,964,352 43,110,256 38,816,356 32,271,589 39%
Arkansas State 33,754,642 28,162,528 24,654,674 21,009,474 61%
Coastal Carolina 46,978,290 43,509,290 38,153,878 38,077,490 23%
Georgia Southern 38,133,784 36,967,213 35,614,506 29,737,578 28%
Georgia State 39,979,520 39,204,432 36,803,754 39,913,977 -
James Madison 68,384,574 66,110,281 57,767,541 52,857,185 29%
Louisiana at Lafayette 42,959,075 42,952,287 38,961,026 39,088,716 10%
Louisiana at Monroe 20,557,764 20,253,458 18,518,405 18,416,615 12%
Louisiana Tech 33,952,161 30,305,928 27,808,448 25,579,294 33%
Marshall 47,042,862 45,966,327 43,778,074 38,114,204 23%
Old Dominion 53,232,824 51,827,948 48,623,590 45,109,567 18%
South Alabama 32,559,740 30,591,632 28,658,603 24,652,380 32%
Southern Mississippi 31,875,542 28,107,301 27,676,039 25,564,444 25%
Troy 39,742,013 36,937,664 28,800,917 29,054,724 37%
Average ($) 41,008,367 38,857,610 35,331,129 32,817,660 25%
* Expenses per Equity in Athletics Act (EADA) annual reporting. EADA differs from NCAA reporting, the primary difference being that EADA reporting does not require disclosure of payments made for athletic facilities debt service and leases. Consequently, EADA reporting typically results in lower annual expenses than NCAA reporting at most schools. See our methodology page for more detail and disclosures.
Estimated NCAA Revenue Sharing 2025-26: Sun Belt Conference Schools
Based on average operating revenue of around $ 11 million per school (see table below), estimated revenue sharing using the 22% NCAA benchmark results in an average commitment of about $ 2.4 million per school:
| Estimated Revenue Sharing Sun Belt Schools 2025-26 | Revenue Share % | Team / Sport Allocation ($) | Eligible Athletes | Average per Athlete ($) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Football | 66.9% | 1,635,497 | 105 | 15,634 | |
| Men's Basketball | 10.9% | 266,471 | 15 | 19,185 | |
| All Other Sports | 22.2% | 542,721 | 315 | 1,636 | |
| Sun Belt Averages | 100.0% | $ 2,444,689 | 435 | $ 5,620 |
Football and Men’s basketball account for around 75 to 80% of team specific revenues at most FBS Group of 6 schools, and athletes on these two teams will be the major beneficiaries of revenue sharing. These are averages per athlete, a few players per team will likely receive substantially higher than the average, while many will receive much less. Schools may pay more or less than the 22% NCAA benchmark, and can also opt out of revenue sharing entirely. Estimates are based on team specific revenues as reported to the NCAA.
Questions on our data? Contact us at: NIL-NCAA.com
Statistics compiled & edited by Patrick O’Rourke, CPA Washington, DC 