Delgado Community College in New Orleans, Louisiana, committed $196,155 to its men’s basketball teams in 2024, which is $1,286,333 less than the state average of $1,482,488, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
This figure made up 21.7% of Delgado’s total sports team spending for 2024.
Delgado Community College’s total athletics spending has grown by 122% since 2010.
Basketball remains one of the most popular college sports in the country along with football, with top NCAA programs drawing fan bases and TV audiences that compete with the NBA. Annual events like March Madness draw millions of viewers nationwide.
College sports is experiencing significant changes in athlete compensation following a federal settlement that permits schools to share revenue directly with players for the first time. The settlement also obligates the NCAA to pay $2.8 billion in back damages over the next decade to athletes who competed from 2016 onward.
As of 2022, after sustained legal and legislative challenges, athletes won the ability to earn money from their names, images, and likenesses through changes to state laws and updated NCAA policies.
The NCAA earned approximately $900 million in revenue from March Madness and other Division I men’s basketball tournament media rights during fiscal year 2024, making basketball its largest single revenue source.
| Year | Basketball team’s expenditures | % from grand total sport team expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $198,870 | 25.4% |
| 2021 | $192,735 | 22.6% |
| 2022 | $206,696 | 25.9% |
| 2023 | $189,411 | 22.4% |
| 2024 | $196,155 | 21.7% |
Information in this article is from the U.S. Department of Education. The original source data is available here.
