The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee allocated $1,601,417 to its women’s basketball teams in 2024, surpassing the state average of $530,633 by $1,070,784, based on data from the U.S. Department of Education.
This represented 10.9% of all spending on university sports teams in 2024.
Overall, sports expenses at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have risen 40.3% since 2010.
Along with football, basketball remains one of the most popular college sports in the country, with major NCAA events drawing levels of support and television viewers similar to some NBA matchups. Tournaments like March Madness bring in millions of annual viewers.
College sports are undergoing significant changes in athlete compensation after a federal settlement enabled schools to directly share revenues with athletes for the first time. Additionally, the settlement requires the NCAA to provide $2.8 billion over 10 years in back damages to athletes who participated since 2016.
In 2022, following prolonged legal and legislative efforts, student-athletes were granted the right to profit from their names, images and likenesses under state laws and revised NCAA policies.
The NCAA earned about $900 million in the 2024 fiscal year from media rights related to March Madness and the Division I men’s basketball tournament, making basketball its primary revenue driver.
| Year | Basketball team’s expenditures | % from grand total sport team expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $1,413,894 | 10.9% |
| 2021 | $1,440,542 | 12.1% |
| 2022 | $4,394,570 | 22.5% |
| 2023 | $2,266,845 | 14.2% |
| 2024 | $1,601,417 | 10.9% |
