Northwestern Has Highest Sports Aid Spending In Nation

EVANSTON, IL — Northwestern University spends the most sports-related student aid per athlete of any school in NCAA Division I, according to data submitted to the federal government. The university divides more than $19 million in athletically related student aid among the 478 students who participate in varsity sports. Northwestern is the only school in the country to spend more than $40,000 per participating undergraduate student, according to most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Education.

The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act requires every institution that runs intercollegiate athletics programs and receives federal student aid to submit data on the finances and participation in its sports programs, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The Office of Postsecondary Education collects athletics data and provides a searchable database. It defines athletic student aid as any financial assistance that includes terms requiring the student to participate in intercollegiate athletics and does not include other aid provided to athletes.

Of its sports-related student aid, 56 percent of it goes to men's teams, according to 2016 equity data. There were 243 participants on Northwestern women's teams and 235 on its men's teams. The university paid the head coaches and assistant coaches of its men's teams $11.8 million, compared to $3.6 million to the coaches of its women's teams.

Northwestern spends almost $60 million on its varsity teams, which generate $55.7 million in revenue, according to data the university submitted to the federal government. More than half of the revenue from Northwestern sports programs – $38.7 million – came from its football team.

The university, the only private school competing in the Big Ten conference, spends another roughly $1.3 million on recruiting expenses, with 27 percent going to women's teams, according to the database.

Northwestern has raised $3.57 billion during an ongoing fundraising campaign as of last fall. It recently completed $270 million lakefront sports training facility and a $110 million renovation to Welsh-Ryan Arena is expected to be complete this fall. The university announced last month it was laying off 80 staff members amid a projected budget deficit for the current fiscal year.

In addition to ranking first in per-athlete financial aid, Northwestern ranks eighth overall in the total among of athletically related scholarships, grants and other aid available among the 347 Division I schools.

With just 4,211 undergraduates, Northwestern is less than a quarter of the size of any of the other top 10 athletic aid providers, which include the University of Michigan, Stanford and Notre Dame.

More information available from the Office of Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education