College Sports Revenue Gap Between Power Conference Schools & Everyone Else Increased Nearly 600% Since 2002, Commerce Committee Analysis Finds

"Without change, there won't be anymore 'any given Saturday' gridiron dreams or March Madness Cinderella stories," report concludes.

Olympic sports at risk: Since May 2024, 41 Division 1 programs have been cut in sports like track and field and volleyball, affecting at least 1,000 athletes.

The SCORE Act does nothing to mitigate this disparity that will damage college sports.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, released a new analysis of college sports TV revenues showing how skyrocketing media rights payments have exacerbated a massive financial gap between traditional power conferences, especially the new Power 2-the SEC and Big Ten-and everyone else. This ever-widening gap is increasing competitive disparities among schools and threatening Olympic and non-revenue sports in favor of football and basketball.

"Today, a Power 2 school won't just gain an edge over other conferences by spending more on coaches and facilities, they can afford to recruit the most talented student athletes, including athletes who have been coached up by other schools," the report states. "And the more they win, the more media revenues they rack up. The result is the 'haves' continue to get more and more, leaving the small to midsize schools ever further behind. Without change, there won't be anymore 'any given Saturday' gridiron dreams or March Madness Cinderella stories."

Major findings:

• The average school in a power conference received nearly 12 times more from conference revenue distributions than competitors in lower-tier FBS conferences.
• The revenue gap between power conference school and other schools increased 584% from 2002-2023, and more than doubled (129%) from 2014-2023. In real dollar terms, a revenue gap that was approximately $6 million per school per year in 2002, has grown to over $43 million per school per year in 2023.
• In the NCAA men's basketball tournament, power conferences-especially the Power 2-are monopolizing an increasing number of at-large bids. In 2024, the SEC and Big Ten, flush with increasing revenues from TV media deals, earned more at-large bids than every other conference combined.
• Since May 2024, 41 Division 1 Olympic sports programs have been cut in sports like track and field and volleyball, affecting at least 1,000 athletes.

Earlier today, Sen. Cantwell wrote to all members of the Commerce Committee to share the report's findings ahead of an expected House floor vote next week on the SCORE Act.

"[I]t does not serve the diverse academic institutions in each of our states, or the passionate fans that root for their favorite teams, to lock in a distorted systems that effectively allows a few powerhouse schools to start every game with a few points already on the board…", she wrote.

The Commerce Committee's analysis also identifies specific schools in danger of losing out as conferences move to TV deals that reward higher viewership with higher revenue. The table below shows which schools stand to be winners and losers in a viewership-based distribution system based on how often schools in the top conferences were participants in one of the top 100 most-viewed college football games of the 2023 or 2024 seasons.

The year-by-year revenue data in the report is based on tax returns submitted by the conferences to the IRS from 2002-2023.

Last month, Sen. Cantwell wrote to the presidents and chancellors of more than 350 Division I universities and their governing bodies, warning that legislation currently before the House of Representatives would further cement current inequities in college athletics and consolidate power with the SEC and Big Ten. She asked for their input on how to address these inequities and maximize the value of college sports across the board.

The SCORE Act was largely written with the input of NCAA and power conference leaders and without sufficient input from the universities and athletes who have the most at stake if the legislation becomes law. It was passed by the House Education and Workforce Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 23.

On July 15, Sen. Cantwell and Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R, WA-05) sent a letter strongly opposing the bill.

The full report, "The Growing College Sport Funding Gap: How massive media revenue disparities are hurting athletes and smaller schools" can be found here.

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