NCAA Announces Lowered Payments to Colleges

[13th&Jackson]

NCAA Announces Lowered Payments to Colleges and Universities

March 26, 3:22 p.m. The National Collegiate Athletic Association released a revised financial distribution plan showing $375 million less in allocations to Division I institutions than originally budgeted for 2020.

The NCAA’s Board of Governors voted to distribute $225 million to Division I, $13.9 million to Division II and $10.7 million to Division III member institutions, according to a press release. The NCAA’s revenue distribution was previously budgeted at $600 million for Division I. Divisions II and III are receiving $30 million and $22 million less, respectively, than they did in 2019.

Athletics departments at campuses across the country rely heavily on NCAA distributions to determine their own budgets.

Nearly $800 million -- most of the NCAA’s revenue -- comes from the Division I men’s basketball March Madness tournament, which was canceled two weeks ago because of the coronavirus pandemic. The $225 million to be given to Division I institutions in June will be made up of $50 million from NCAA reserves, and the remaining funds will come from credit lines to be paid off by a $270 million event cancellation insurance policy. The NCAA will also undergo a “variety of cost-cutting budget measures,” the press release said.

The NCAA has prepared for such revenue losses, said Michael Drake, chair of its Board of Governors and president of Ohio State University. The pandemic is a “financial catastrophic event,” he said.

“As an association, we must acknowledge the uncertainties of our financial situation and continue to make thoughtful and prudent decisions on how we can assist conferences and campuses in supporting student-athletes now and into the future,” Drake said in the release.