The S&B compiled a comparative account of the funding and expenses of the athletic departments of three Iowan colleges — the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and Grinnell College. University of Iowa and Iowa State both compete in Power Four Conferences, the most elite conferences of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Thus, while their financial budgets and processes share similarities, they differ significantly from Grinnell, which is in Division III.
In our investigation, we talked to officials from the three schools. From the University of Iowa, Joe Parker, deputy director of athletics for strategic initiatives and chief operating officer. From Iowa State, Jim Pollard, the school’s current, and longest-serving, director of athletics. From Grinnell, Ellen de Graffenreid, vice president of communications and marketing. Holly Roepke, Grinnell’s director of athletics and Recreation, requested that questions regarding budget allocation be directed to de Graffenreid.
University of Iowa
The Hawkeyes, University of Iowa’s athletic teams, compete in the Big Ten Conference in the NCAA DI. Their athletics department consists of 22 varsity teams and 582 student athletes, while employing 240 full-time staff members, according to Joe Parker. The Hawkeyes’ budget for the financial year 2026, extending from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, is $169 million.
The Hawkeyes are financially independent, meaning that all revenue required to run the varsity teams are self-generated. Membership in the Big Ten Conference guarantees revenue from the right to broadcast games. Since 2023, the Big Ten has had a broadcasting agreement with Fox, CBS, NBC Sports and Peacock. According to Parker, revenue generated from membership in the Big Ten is the most significant piece of the Hawkeyes’ athletic budget.
The next major source of revenue for the Hawkeyes is from ticket sales for football, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and wrestling matches, said Parker. Licensing revenue for any products with the Hawkeyes logo, corporate sponsorship, advertising and donations are the other main facets of the Hawkeyes’ revenue production.
Parker stated that the largest expense for the Hawkeyes is salary for staff members, followed by financial aid for student athletes and, for the first year ever, revenue sharing.
Since House v. NCAA was signed in June 2025, all colleges in the Power Four Conferences have participated in revenue sharing, in which athletic departments are required to share their income with student athletes through direct payments. Traveling for away games and recruiting, facilities maintenance and game-day and event management are the major expenses for the Hawkeyes.
Parker noted that football generates nearly 80 percent of the Hawkeyes’ revenue, saying that the department is always looking for innovative methods of revenue generation. These include applying data analytics to ticket pricing, securing a partnership for creating a field logo with John Deere and renting out arenas for other events such as exhibition games by Indiana Fever — Hawkeyes alum Caitlin Clark’s team — and the Savannah Bananas, an exhibition baseball team. The Hawkeyes also intend to host one to two concerts per year in their stadium.
“At Iowa, we understand what our identity is, and we’ve built a strong value system around that identity,” said Parker.
Iowa State University
The Cyclones, Iowa State University’s athletic teams, compete in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA DI. According to Jamie Pollard, Iowa State’s athletic budget is $140 million for fiscal year 2026. Pollard said that this budget would be among the bottom third of Power Four teams, but would be at the 50th percentile among all Football Bowl Subdivision programs, the highest level of college football. The budget would also be in the top 20 to 25 percent among all Division I programs. Programs in the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference tend to have bigger budgets.
Forty percent of the Cyclones budget comes from their membership in the Big Twelve, especially through television rights. Another 40 percent comes from fans and attendees of Cyclones games, mainly through donations and ticket sales, as well as concessions.
The final 20 percent can be divided into three categories. The first category consists of auxiliary operations which refer to events hosted at Iowa State facilities, such as high school basketball tournaments and concerts. Iowa State hosted George Strait in 2023 at Jack Trice Stadium, the Cyclones’ home ground, and will be hosting Luke Combs next April. The second category consists of funds generated from an athletic fee of $31 from each student. The third category is funds generated from corporate sponsorships.
Pollard also categorized the Cyclones’ expenses into three categories. The first third constitutes salaries and personnel costs. The next third consists of sporting operations costs such as travel and recruiting. The final third is further subdivided into three equal categories — debt service on facility projects, athletic scholarships and deferred maintenance.
Pollard noted that for the last 19 years, athletic costs had equaled revenue. This year, however, costs outpaced revenue by around $20 million.
“This year’s different because there’s been some transformational changes in college athletics that have kind of thrown our budget model on its head, and we’re working through how to fund that long-term,” said Pollard.
These transformational changes refer to three main costs. Firstly, revenue sharing with student athletes will cost the department around $20 million. Secondly, bringing in Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah to the Big 12 caused Iowa State to dilute its revenue, costing $5 million. Thirdly, changes in the College Football Playoff revenue distribution model will cost a further $5 million. In combating this $30 million cost, Pollard’s department has raised ticket prices and donation requirements and re-negotiated sponsorship contracts generating $10 million of revenue.
Grinnell College
Grinnell’s athletics teams in the Midwest Conference in NCAA Division III compete at a substantially different level as compared to Iowa and Iowa State. According to Ellen de Graffenreid, the funding for the Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation (PEAR) comes from a combination of revenue from students, the annual endowment distribution and philanthropy.
De Graffenreid wrote in an email to The S&B that since all of the College’s revenue goes into one pool, it is then allocated through the budget process and it is not possible to connect specific sources of funds with any budget. Further, Grinnell’s policy does not allow for the sharing of departmental budgets.
However, de Graffenreid noted that the PEAR program is required to produce a balanced budget every year. The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) requires all higher-education institutions to report their athletic programs’ expenses and financial support yearly.
Grinnell’s 2025 EADA report reveals that their athletic expenses for 2024-2025 was approximately $4.75 million. Of this total, $1.61 million were expenses from men’s varsity teams, $1.14 million were from women’s varsity teams and around $2 million were expenses not attributable to a specific sex or sports team.
Since Grinnell athletic budget is not generated by the PEAR department, the budget allocation process also differs from the two other Iowan colleges. According to de Graffenreid, the budget is decided through a collaborative process involving the athletic department leadership, the Academic Affairs team and the Budget Committe