The NCAA in '14 was totaled $989M in revenue and $908.5M in expenses, resulting in a surplus of about $80.5M which is "the largest in NCAA history," according to an NCAA financial statement cited by Kevin McGuire of NBCSPORTS.com. The net surplus is about $20M higher in '14 "compared to the previous fiscal year for the NCAA." Approximately $753.5M in revenue "came through various television and marketing rights fees," and an additional $114.8M "came from championships and NIT tournaments." Of the expenses, $547M "was distributed" to D-I schools. A total of $34.7M went to D-II distributions, "championship expenses and other programs," while D-III championship expenses and distributions amounted to $28.7M. The NCAA also "set aside" $158M for legal expenses, "an astronomical number" (NBCSPORTS.com, 3/11). USA TODAY's Steve Berkowitz notes among the NCAA's nearly $665M in unrestricted net assets "is an endowment fund that had grown" to more than $385M as of the end of FY '14. The fund grew by more than $59M in '14, "by far the greatest one-year increase since it was established" in '04. The financial statement "also provided some insight into the NCAA's recent legal costs and how it plans to pay for various legal settlements -- and the role of insurance in those matters." The statement "takes note of the 'unfavorable verdict' the NCAA received" in the Ed O'Bannon case (USA TODAY, 3/12).
