Most fans think of athletic revenue as tickets, TV deals, and sponsorships. At HBCU programs, there is another source that often funds the budget before any of those kick in: the students themselves. Student athletic fees are baked into the cost of enrollment at most schools in the Data Driven HBCU D1 cohort and are collected every semester, whether or not a student sets foot inside an athletic facility. For some programs, those fees are the largest single line item in the athletic budget. Here is where every school in the 17-school MFRS cohort stands.
About the Data
Student athletic fee figures are drawn from the NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System, FY2025. The MFRS covers 17 of the 23 schools in the Data Driven HBCU D1 cohort. Howard University and Hampton University are private institutions that are not required to publicly file MFRS data. Bethune-Cookman University is also private and not required to file publicly. 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 sent us their reports as of this time. Student fee data for those six schools is not available in this ranking.
The full underlying data is available through the Data Driven HBCU dashboards. The MFRS FY2025 Summary provides cohort-level revenue breakdowns, and individual school reports are linked from that page. Each school’s dashboard includes a full revenue mix breakdown showing student fees alongside all other funding sources.
Student Athletic Fee Rankings: MFRS FY2025 (17 Schools)
| Rank | School | Conf | Student Fees | % of Total Revenue | Total Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NC A&T State University | CAA | $10,742,682 | 47.8% | $22,466,961 |
| 2 | Morgan State University | MEAC | $10,572,042 | 76.8% | $13,762,286 |
| 3 | Norfolk State University | MEAC | $9,651,929 | 38.6% | $24,980,261 |
| 4 | Jackson State University | SWAC | $6,181,801 | 39.7% | $15,571,763 |
| 5 | NC Central University | MEAC | $5,452,022 | 30.5% | $17,900,517 |
| 6 | Florida A&M University | SWAC | $4,388,417 | 31.5% | $13,919,420 |
| 7 | Southern University | SWAC | $3,487,560 | 20.5% | $17,026,134 |
| 8 | Prairie View A&M University | SWAC | $3,207,141 | 18.0% | $17,857,955 |
| 9 | Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore | MEAC | $3,112,275 | 26.1% | $11,946,722 |
| 10 | Texas Southern University | SWAC | $2,216,558 | 21.0% | $10,560,312 |
| 11 | Coppin State University | MEAC | $1,797,297 | 52.1% | $3,450,390 |
| 12 | SC State University | MEAC | $1,405,800 | 10.7% | $13,108,767 |
| 13 | Univ. of Arkansas-Pine Bluff | SWAC | $1,234,260 | 8.7% | $14,201,927 |
| 14 | Alcorn State University | SWAC | $1,156,704 | 16.1% | $7,191,711 |
| 15 | Grambling State University | SWAC | $1,052,796 | 11.4% | $9,271,491 |
| 16 | Mississippi Valley State Univ. | SWAC | $784,969 | 14.1% | $5,576,533 |
| 17 | Alabama A&M University | SWAC | $461,691 | 2.2% | $20,904,164 |
Morgan State and Coppin State represent the two ends of fee concentration in the cohort. Morgan State drew 76.8% of its total athletic revenue from student fees, the highest share among programs with MFRS filings. Coppin State draws 52.1%. Alabama A&M sits at the opposite end, with student fees accounting for just 2.2% of total revenue despite an overall budget of $20.9 million, meaning the program is funded primarily through other channels. NC A&T and Norfolk State lead in raw fee dollars, but their larger total budgets mean fees account for a smaller share of the whole than at Morgan State or Coppin State.
Fall 2024 Enrollment and Per-Semester Athletic Fee (17 Schools)
The total student fee collected by each program reflects both the number of students enrolled and how much each pays. The table below shows Fall 2024 enrollment headcount alongside each school’s per-semester athletic fee from its 2024-25 published fee schedule.
| School | Conf | Fall 2024 Enrollment | Athletic Fee (Per Semester) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC A&T State University | CAA | 14,311 | $435.00 |
| Morgan State University | MEAC | 10,739 | N/A |
| Norfolk State University | MEAC | 6,053 | $902.00 |
| Jackson State University | SWAC | 6,326 | N/A |
| NC Central University | MEAC | 8,579 | $431.00 |
| Florida A&M University | SWAC | 9,313 | $254.55 |
| Southern University | SWAC | 7,483 | $274.00 |
| Prairie View A&M University | SWAC | 9,893 | $150.00 |
| Univ. of Maryland Eastern Shore | MEAC | 3,166 | $553.00 |
| Texas Southern University | SWAC | 8,704 | $150.00 |
| Coppin State University | MEAC | 2,210 | $830.00 |
| SC State University | MEAC | 3,242 | $256.00 |
| Univ. of Arkansas-Pine Bluff | SWAC | 2,005 | $330.00 |
| Alcorn State University | SWAC | 2,995 | N/A |
| Grambling State University | SWAC | 5,150 | $100.00 |
| Mississippi Valley State Univ. | SWAC | 2,205 | N/A |
| Alabama A&M University | SWAC | 7,295 | $76.00 |
Sources: Fall 2024 enrollment from each institution’s official fact sheet or news release. Figures shown reflect a full-time student at 15 credit hours per semester (Prairie View capped at $150). Morgan State and Jackson State do not publish a standalone athletic fee; the charge is bundled within a comprehensive mandatory fee. Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State fee schedules were not publicly accessible at the time of publication.
Data Driven HBCU covers the financial reality of public HBCU athletics using publicly available federal filings and NCAA data. All figures drawn from FY2025 NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System filings.
Sources
NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System. FY2025 filings for 17 D1 HBCU institutions, compiled by Data Driven HBCU.
