The average SWAC distribution (~$1.12M per school) is more than seven times the average OVC institutional grant (~$153K per school). This reflects fundamentally different conference economic models: the SWAC pools its TV/media revenue into the overall member distribution rather than retaining it, while the OVC retains its TV contract fees for operations. The effect shows up in total distribution amounts — not in school-level media rights revenue for SWAC, CAA, and CAA Football HBCU members, who report $0 in the MFRS media rights field. (MEAC member schools are an exception and may report media rights revenue from institutional sources.) For HBCU members, conference choice has a direct and measurable impact on the revenue available to fund athletic programs.

The CAA generated $2.47M in multimedia contract revenue in FY2024–25 and distributed none of it to member schools. The OVC generated $873K in TV contract fees and retained them for operations. CAA Football distributed 84% of its FloSports fees to football members. Having a media deal does not guarantee schools benefit from it — distribution policy determines whether that revenue reaches the campus level. And even when it does reach schools, it is not recorded as media rights revenue: SWAC, CAA, and CAA Football HBCU members report $0 in media rights on their MFRS filings. Conference distributions arrive as a single payment under the NCAA/Conference line, regardless of what revenue types funded them at the conference level.

MEAC schools that earned NCAA Tournament bids retain the majority of their share over the rolling six-year distribution window. This policy is directly visible in MFRS data: Norfolk State reported $1,789,129 in NCAA/Conference revenue in FY2025, while NC Central — without recent tournament appearances — reported $356,973. The difference reflects accumulated tournament shares, not a structural conference funding disparity. These advantages phase out over six years if tournament appearances don't continue.

Every HBCU athletic department reports a single "NCAA / Conference" line in its MFRS filing. This combines what the conference distributes with direct NCAA funds that flow to schools without passing through the conference at all. Separately, SWAC, CAA, and CAA Football HBCU schools report $0 in the MFRS media rights revenue field — conference distributions, regardless of whether the conference pooled TV revenue into them, are not recorded as media rights at the school level. MEAC member schools are an exception: NCCU, UMES, and SC State each report media rights revenue on their MFRS filings, sourced from institutional-level contracts and sponsorships rather than conference distributions. The 990 data is the only publicly available source that allows researchers to estimate how much of a school's NCAA/Conference total comes from the conference's own distribution.

Despite the SWAC distributing ~$1.12M per school on average — the highest in this group — SWAC schools in the FY2025 MFRS cohort show some of the largest deficits. Grambling State (−$4.97M), Prairie View A&M (−$8.15M), and Southern University (−$1.35M) are all running significant operating deficits. The conference distributions are being absorbed by expanding expenditures, not creating financial stability. Higher conference revenue does not automatically translate to healthier athletic department finances.

The OVC spent $4.3M more than it generated in FY2024–25, is operating under acting leadership, and retains rather than distributes its TV revenue. For Tennessee State — the conference's only HBCU member — this matters: TSU received $196,468 from the OVC in institutional distributions, a fraction of what SWAC or MEAC peers receive. If the OVC's financial position deteriorates further, the distributions available to TSU are at risk.