Suffolk University in Boston, Mass., allocated $134,794 to its women’s basketball teams in 2024, which was $398,132 beneath the state average expenditure of $532,926, data from the U.S. Department of Education shows.
This spending represented 3.4% of the university’s total budget for sports teams in 2024.
Suffolk University’s sports-related expenses have climbed 441% since 2010.
Basketball remains one of the most popular college athletics in the U.S., alongside football. Major NCAA programs draw fan support and television audiences that sometimes rival the NBA, with March Madness tournaments garnering millions of viewers annually.
A new era for college athletes began after a federal settlement enabled schools to share revenue directly with players for the first time. The agreement also obligates the NCAA to distribute $2.8 billion over 10 years in back damages to athletes who participated from 2016 onward.
In 2022, following years of pressure from courts and lawmakers, athletes gained the ability to earn money from their names, images and likenesses due to state legislation and shifts in NCAA rules.
The NCAA reported $900 million in revenue from media rights for March Madness and related Division I men’s basketball tournaments in fiscal 2024, making basketball its top source of revenue.
| Year | Basketball team’s expenditures | % from grand total sport team expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $66,356 | 3% |
| 2021 | $65,331 | 3.2% |
| 2022 | $74,030 | 3% |
| 2023 | $106,641 | 3.1% |
| 2024 | $134,794 | 3.4% |
Information for this report comes from the U.S. Department of Education. The source data is available here.
