(The Center Square) – Never more broken, and never more popular.
College athletics, said the president of North Carolina’s public university system and other members of the Board of Governors, has reached unsustainable spending. The University of North Carolina System, in its board meeting, said analysis of the 15 institutions with NCAA athletics departments will be forthcoming.
“You don’t have to be an economist to figure out that those who spend the most will generally win the most games,” said UNC System President Peter Hans. “That’s why I’m hoping this will be the start of a conversation amongst the board members of how we can remain competitive in athletics, but not, in the long run, at the expense of the mission.”
Student fees, campus support and state government account for a little more than one-third of athletics spending at the institutions.
The collegiate part of the UNC System includes Appalachian State, East Carolina, Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, N.C. A&T, N.C. Central, N.C. State, UNC Asheville, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC School of the Arts, UNC Wilmington, Western Carolina and Winston-Salem State. There is one high school level institution, the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham. UNC School of the Arts does not field NCAA athletics teams.
N.C. State and Carolina are Atlantic Coast Conference members, a Power 4 league with great sway on NCAA policies. In what is considered college football’s Group of 6, the collective next rung, are ECU and UNC Charlotte in the American Athletic Conference; and Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Conference.
There’s great contrast on media rights payouts for the state's schools, and for those institutions competing in their leagues. For example, the Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences the most recent distributions had averages of greater than $70 million to their members while the ACC ($42.8 million) and Big 12 ($37.9 million) were a significant step behind.
According to New York Times analysis, top football programs alone spend about $50 million on their rosters this season. N.C. State and Carolina landed in the $20 million to $26 million range. East Carolina was $4.5 million; Charlotte and Appalachian were not included.
No school in the system, said Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Haygood, fully covers athletics expenses with generated revenue. State and Carolina come closest. Thus, all programs rely on school subsidies.
Carolina’s athletics expenses in fiscal year 2025 were $188 million, up 35.3% from $139 million a mere two years ago. It coincides with this year being eight-time Super Bowl champion coach Bill Belichick's second season in Chapel Hill. N.C. State’s $134.5 million in 2025 is up 13% from $119 million in two years.
North Carolina’s legalized sports wagering contributes up to $2.9 million to the system universities, and extra amounts for the Division I schools. Priority of spending the money is first for athletics deficits to reduce reliance on student fees.
Budget and Finance Committee Chairman Kirk Bradley told the board economic impact from the athletics programs is about $1.5 billion. He also tied the success to generating philanthropy and students to the campuses.