HBCU basketball has its own culture, its own history, and its own audiences that show up because they always have. Reed Arena. Watsco Center. The Scope. What goes into filling those buildings and fielding a competitive program every year is a different conversation, and it starts with the budget. Here is the first comprehensive look at men’s basketball spending across all 23 schools in the Data Driven HBCU D1 cohort, drawn from official federal and NCAA filings.
About the Data
Two data sources are used here, and understanding both makes the numbers easier to read.
The EADA is a federal filing every co-educational Title IV institution must submit. It covers all 23 schools. The key thing to know about EADA revenue figures is that they include institutional support and student fees allocated to each sport. That is why so many programs show revenue matching expenses almost exactly — the university fills the gap before the numbers are reported. When you see a $0 net in the EADA table, it does not mean the sport broke even on its own. It means the institution made up the difference.
The MFRS is an NCAA reporting system that shows what sports actually earn and spend before institutional support is added. The EADA and MFRS data together show the full picture: what basketball costs, and how it gets paid for.
Howard University, Hampton University, and Bethune-Cookman University are private institutions not required to make their MFRS filings public. Delaware State University is not required to share its MFRS data publicly. Alabama State University and Tennessee State University are public schools that haven’t made their reports available to us. Those six schools appear in the EADA table but not the MFRS table.
Full data for both systems is available through the Data Driven HBCU dashboards. School-level EADA reports are at the EADA 2024-25 Index. MFRS reports are at the MFRS FY2025 Summary.
Men’s Basketball: EADA 2024-25 (23 Schools)
The EADA table shows the total resources allocated to men’s basketball, including the university’s contribution. Programs showing a $0 net are using a standard EADA balancing convention, in which institutional support fills the gap between what the sport earns and what it costs.
| Rank | School | Conf | Revenue | Expenses | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norfolk State University | MEAC | $2,771,667 | $2,771,667 | $0 |
| 2 | Morgan State University | MEAC | $2,630,186 | $2,215,530 | +$414,656 |
| 3 | Hampton University | CAA | $2,223,463 | $2,993,447 | -$769,984 |
| 4 | Howard University | MEAC | $1,986,273 | $2,238,824 | -$252,551 |
| 5 | Bethune-Cookman University | SWAC | $1,970,796 | $1,970,796 | $0 |
| 6 | NC A&T State University | CAA | $1,919,954 | $1,919,954 | $0 |
| 7 | Texas Southern University | SWAC | $1,649,116 | $1,649,116 | $0 |
| 8 | Tennessee State University | OVC | $1,633,260 | $1,633,260 | $0 |
| 9 | Alabama A&M University | SWAC | $1,591,243 | $1,235,045 | +$356,198 |
| 10 | NC Central University | MEAC | $1,504,543 | $1,504,543 | $0 |
| 11 | Grambling State University | SWAC | $1,482,689 | $1,482,689 | $0 |
| 12 | SC State University | MEAC | $1,410,787 | $1,410,787 | $0 |
| 13 | Alcorn State University | SWAC | $1,386,731 | $1,386,731 | $0 |
| 14 | Prairie View A&M University | SWAC | $1,166,481 | $1,166,481 | $0 |
| 15 | Delaware State University | MEAC | $1,162,648 | $1,162,648 | $0 |
| 16 | Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore | MEAC | $1,147,044 | $1,245,634 | -$98,590 |
| 17 | Alabama State University | SWAC | $1,131,147 | $1,131,147 | $0 |
| 18 | Mississippi Valley State Univ. | SWAC | $993,877 | $717,325 | +$276,552 |
| 19 | Jackson State University | SWAC | $936,115 | $936,115 | $0 |
| 20 | Coppin State University | MEAC | $865,495 | $865,495 | $0 |
| 21 | Southern University | SWAC | $842,385 | $1,229,692 | -$387,307 |
| 22 | Univ. of Arkansas-Pine Bluff | SWAC | $731,790 | $731,790 | $0 |
| 23 | Florida A&M University | SWAC | $500,000 | $1,189,864 | -$689,864 |
Men’s Basketball: MFRS FY2025 (17 Schools)
Most programs in the MFRS data show a deficit between what men’s basketball earns and what it costs. That gap is covered by institutional support and student fees — the same funding that is already baked into the EADA figures above. The deficits are not a sign of financial trouble. They are simply how Division I basketball gets funded at this level.
| Rank | School | Conf | Revenue | Expenses | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norfolk State University | MEAC | $2,929,666 | $2,929,667 | $0 |
| 2 | SC State University | MEAC | $1,632,499 | $1,486,969 | +$145,530 |
| 3 | Alabama A&M University | SWAC | $1,549,023 | $1,865,828 | -$316,805 |
| 4 | Prairie View A&M University | SWAC | $1,465,627 | $1,560,852 | -$95,225 |
| 5 | Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore | MEAC | $1,227,588 | $1,250,391 | -$22,803 |
| 6 | Jackson State University | SWAC | $911,474 | $1,450,478 | -$539,004 |
| 7 | NC A&T State University | CAA | $775,202 | $2,093,189 | -$1,317,987 |
| 8 | Mississippi Valley State Univ. | SWAC | $717,325 | $717,025 | +$300 |
| 9 | Florida A&M University | SWAC | $662,463 | $1,277,300 | -$614,837 |
| 10 | Univ. of Arkansas-Pine Bluff | SWAC | $640,761 | $1,196,794 | -$556,033 |
| 11 | Coppin State University | MEAC | $640,638 | $800,149 | -$159,511 |
| 12 | Southern University | SWAC | $607,102 | $1,301,728 | -$694,626 |
| 13 | Grambling State University | SWAC | $533,358 | $1,482,688 | -$949,330 |
| 14 | Morgan State University | MEAC | $414,656 | $2,215,530 | -$1,800,874 |
| 15 | NC Central University | MEAC | $381,859 | $1,691,712 | -$1,309,853 |
| 16 | Alcorn State University | SWAC | $288,260 | $1,294,717 | -$1,006,457 |
| 17 | Texas Southern University | SWAC | $35,278 | $1,270,410 | -$1,235,132 |
Men’s Basketball Ticket Sales and Game Guarantees: MFRS FY2025 (17 Schools)
Game guarantees are where several of these programs pick up real money, and the spread across the cohort tells you a lot about how each program is built. Mississippi Valley State leads with $933,447 in MBB guarantee income. Jackson State brought in $850,000. Prairie View A&M collected $670,000. At the other end, Alcorn State reported no guarantee revenue at all. Norfolk State leads the cohort in ticket sales at $96,813, followed by NC A&T at $90,326. Alabama A&M’s $1,393,322 in ticket revenue is well above that of every other program in the group.
| Rank | School | Conf | Ticket Sales | Guarantees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi Valley State Univ. | SWAC | $10,418 | $933,447 |
| 2 | Jackson State University | SWAC | $51,173 | $850,000 |
| 3 | Prairie View A&M University | SWAC | $28,069 | $670,000 |
| 4 | Texas Southern University* | SWAC | $22,657 | $582,154 |
| 5 | Southern University | SWAC | $67,102 | $540,000 |
| 6 | Univ. of Arkansas-Pine Bluff | SWAC | $11,899 | $518,888 |
| 7 | NC A&T State University | CAA | $90,326 | $517,000 |
| 8 | SC State University | MEAC | $5,424 | $485,000 |
| 9 | Grambling State University | SWAC | $15,976 | $470,000 |
| 10 | Florida A&M University | SWAC | $26,445 | $442,593 |
| 11 | Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore | MEAC | $3,654 | $430,000 |
| 12 | Coppin State University | MEAC | $15,638 | $415,000 |
| 13 | Norfolk State University | MEAC | $96,813 | $305,000 |
| 14 | Morgan State University | MEAC | $48,656 | $215,000 |
| 15 | NC Central University | MEAC | $40,032 | $205,000 |
| 16 | Alabama A&M University | SWAC | $1,393,322 | $90,000 |
| 17 | Alcorn State University** | SWAC | $5,115 | $0 |
*Texas Southern reported guarantee revenue under Non-Program Specific. The figure of $582,154 excludes $350,000 attributed to a football guarantee (Rice University, 2024) and $100,000 attributed to Women’s Basketball.
**Alcorn State’s revenue is not accurately reflected in the MFRS report.
Data Driven HBCU covers the financial reality of public HBCU athletics using publicly available federal filings and NCAA data. EADA figures are drawn from OPE filings for academic year 2024-25. MFRS figures are drawn from FY2025 NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System filings.
Sources
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. Equity in Athletics Data Analysis. Academic year 2024-25. ope.ed.gov/athletics
NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System. FY2025 filings for 17 D1 HBCU institutions, compiled by Data Driven HBCU.
