The NCAA’s published accounts for 2019 and 2021 do not offer a breakdown of exactly how this revenue is shared out, but
in 2016 the organization said the three chief areas money was distributed to were:
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sponsorship and scholarship funds “to help fund NCAA sports and provide scholarships for college athletes”: $222m
-
a basketball performance fund consisting of prize money distributed to each Division I conference based on its’ teams’ results in March Madness over six years: $168.8m
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general financial support for the 26 men’s and women’s championships in Division I across 24 sports: $153.8m
In all,
the NCAA said $924.1m was spent on prize money and financial assistance in 2016, with just over $100m used for “other association-wide expenses” and “general and administrative expenses”.
It’s worth noting that, as a registered non-profit organization,
the NCAA is exempt from federal income taxes.