Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, invested $8,375,585 in its women’s basketball teams in 2024, which is $7,326,053 above the state average expenditure of $1,049,532, the U.S. Department of Education reports.
This spending represented 6% of Vanderbilt University’s overall athletic expenses in 2024.
Vanderbilt University’s total sports-related spending has risen by 207.7% since 2010.
Basketball continues to be one of the nation’s leading college sports, sharing popularity with football. Prominent NCAA programs draw large fan bases and substantial television audiences that sometimes rival the NBA, with tournaments like March Madness consistently attracting millions of viewers.
The landscape of college sports shifted recently as a federal settlement permitted schools to share revenue directly with athletes for the first time. Under the settlement, the NCAA also owes $2.8 billion in retroactive damages over 10 years to individuals who played from 2016 onward.
As of 2022, following prolonged legal and legislative advocacy, college athletes won the ability to earn income from their names, images and likenesses after new state laws and a change in NCAA guidelines.
The NCAA took in approximately $900 million in media rights revenue for Division I men’s basketball tournaments, including March Madness, in the 2024 fiscal year—making basketball its top source of income.
| Year | Basketball team’s expenditures | % from grand total sport team expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $6,034,138 | 6.8% |
| 2021 | $5,226,079 | 5.3% |
| 2022 | $7,990,789 | 7.2% |
| 2023 | $7,915,818 | 6.3% |
| 2024 | $8,375,585 | 6% |
Information for this report comes from the U.S. Department of Education. The underlying data is accessible here.
