Title IX requires that any educational institution receiveing federal funding cannot discriminate in activities or programs, including athletics, on the basis of sex.

However, the legislation does not require equal funding for women’s and men’s college athletics. It only requires equal spending toward athletic scholarships, where schools must fund scholarships in proportion to the participation of men and women in the athletics programs. Beyond that, “treatment” and “benefits” for male and female athletes must be “equitable,” with no specific amount of spending required. 

Conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act Survey, is a mandatory study for any educational higher education institution that receives federal student aid. The survey analyzes and compares the spending of men’s and women’s college athletics programs. 

Here are takeaways from Northwestern’s spending in athletics from the reporting year of Sept. 9, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2021. The analysis notes that the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted the revenues and expenses for the reported year. 

Revenues and Expenses 

The analysis shows that the total revenues of Northwestern men’s varsity teams in the reported year are around $56 million. Football’s total revenue is around $43 million, accounting for 76% of the total revenue for men’s sports and 64% for both men’s and women’s teams. 

The total revenue of women’s varsity teams is $10.5 million. Women’s basketball accounts for over $1.2 million of the total women’s teams revenue, or around 11%,. The remaining sports account for $9.3 million. 

Basketball is the only sport where both men’s and women’s teams revenues and expenses are reported individually. The men’s basketball team’s total expenses are $7.5 million, and the women’s basketball team’s total expenses are $3.9 million — 51% of the total men’s team expenses. 

The revenue of the men’s basketball team in the 2020-2021 year is $8.8 million, while the women’s team is $1.3 million. 

During the 2020-21 season, NU’s men’s basketball team finished with a 9-15 record, finding itself in the bottom three in Big Ten standings. The women’s team record that season was 16-9, finishing in the top five of conference standings. 

These numbers are consistent with overall spending trends in college athletics. According to a June NCAA report, athletic departments in Division I schools spend two times more on men’s sports than on women’s sports, as reflected in the data for NU. 

Operating Expenses by Team

The analysis defines operating, or game-day, expenses as all costs attributed to athletic contests, including transportation, equipment and other costs. 

Football clocks in as the NU men’s team with the highest operating expenses at about $2.0 million. Men’s basketball is next with $631,795 and baseball third with $325,822. 

On the women’s side, basketball comes in first with its operating expense by team at $514,283, the third highest between both men’s teams and women’s teams. Lacrosse is next with $269,775, the fifth highest overall. Women’s softball follows with $215,316. 

Overall, total operating expenses by men’s teams come in at $3,469,692 and women’s teams at $1,886,677. The total operating expenses for women’s teams is 54% of the total for men’s.

Athletic Scholarships 

Title IX requires that athletic departments spend proportionally when it comes to allocating athletic scholarships. NU allocates its spending in this area with a 55% to 45% ratio of men to women, according to the data. Men’s teams at NU received $11,408,760 in athletically related student aid, while the women’s teams received $9,488,840. Despite the disparity, these scholarship amounts reflect the 55-45 ratio that NU must follow with its athletic aid. 

As the smallest school in the Big Ten and the only private school in the conference, NU has the smallest number of participants out of any Big Ten team, with 267 participants on men’s teams and 265 participant’s on women’s teams. In comparison, Ohio State, the largest school in the Big Ten, has a total of 594 participants on men’s teams and 535 participants on women’s teams. 

The report defines athletically related student aid as a scholarship offered by a school for participation in its intercollegiate athletics. Other non-athletic aid isn’t included in the definition. 

Despite having the lowest number of participants in varsity sports, NU spends only behind Michigan when it comes to athletic-related student aid for both men and women, and Ohio State for women’s teams. The data includes all Big Ten schools, except Penn State which is not included in the EADA report. 

Ohio State spent $10.5 million on men’s teams, less than NU’s spending, but $9.5 million on women’s, more than the University’s spending on women’s teams. Even with OSU’s $369,533 in spending for coed teams, its total spending on athletically related student aid is $20.4 million in comparison to NU’s $20.9 million.

Head Coach Salaries

There are eight men’s varsity sports at NU and 11 women’s varsity sports. According to the report, the average annual institutional salary per head coach for men’s teams is $1.1 million. The average for women’s teams is $262,776, amounting to an average difference of $892,032 between men’s team head coaches and women’s team head coaches. The total of men’s teams coaches’ salaries was $9,238,464 and the total for women’s team coaches $2,890,536.

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Twitter: @katewalter03

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