In 2024, Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, spent $11,304,534 on men’s basketball teams—an amount that topped the state average of $732,909 by $10,571,625, data from the U.S. Department of Education shows.
This spending made up 8.3% of the university’s total budget for sports teams in 2024.
Boston College’s overall sports expenditures have climbed by 115.8% since 2010.
Basketball ranks among the most followed college sports in the United States along with football, with Division I programs drawing significant fan interest and TV audiences at levels similar to those of NBA games. Tournaments such as March Madness bring in millions of viewers annually.
College athletics has shifted to a new compensation structure for athletes since a federal settlement enabled schools to directly share revenue with players for the first time. The same agreement obligates the NCAA to distribute $2.8 billion over 10 years in back damages to athletes who competed from 2016 onward.
Athletes in 2022 were allowed to earn money from their names, images and likenesses after years of legal battles, legislative changes, and an NCAA policy amendment.
The NCAA earned about $900 million in revenue from March Madness and other Division I men’s basketball media rights deals during the 2024 fiscal year, making it the organization’s top revenue stream.
| Year | Basketball team’s expenditures | % from grand total sport team expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $6,979,235 | 8% |
| 2021 | $7,739,270 | 9.5% |
| 2022 | $8,674,033 | 9.1% |
| 2023 | $10,158,576 | 8.6% |
| 2024 | $11,304,534 | 8.3% |
Information in this story was sourced from the U.S. Department of Education. The source data can be found here.
