Executive Compensation at the NCAA (2021)

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) organization focused on college sports in the US. With 1,100 member colleges and universities in 102 athletic conferences across the country that participate in 90 championships in 24 sports in 3 divisions, the NCAA is a powerful and well financed organization.

There are 20 independent board members of the governing party, although 25 are listed on the Form 990 (2020 for the year ending August 31, 2021);   16 of the 25 (64%) board members are male while 9 of the 25 (36%) are female.

In 2020, the NCAA appears to have been greatly affected by the pandemic due to the cancellation of sporting events.  In 2019, the organization raised about $1.1 billion, most of which came from television rights and championships/tournaments.  But in 2020, total revenue was $521 million (more than $500 million less than the year before).  Most revenue came from television rights ($165 million) and insurance recovery revenue ($274 million) in 2020.

In 2021, revenue recovered and was reported to be $1.1 billion, most of which came from television rights.

Expenses were just over $1 billion (meaning the NCAA spent $80 million less than they raised) in 2021 with the 4 largest expenses reported to be scholarships and grants ($635 million), championship event expenses ($175 million), fees for services – primarily legal – ($66 million), and compensation ($85 million).

In 2021, 626 employees of the NCAA received $85 million in compensation, which equates to an average compensation of $136,000.  However, only 142 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation. The 16 most highly compensated employees were:

• $2,991,112:  Mark Emmert, President
• $1,761,612:  Donald Remy, EVP
• $1,389,815:  Stanley Wilcox, EVP
• $  867,300:  Brian Hainline, Chief Medical Officer
• $  682,168:  Kathleen McNeely, SVP of Admin and CFO
• $  627,805:  Katrice Albert, EVP
• $  610,471:  Daniel Gavitt, SVP
• $  602,924:  Joni Comstock, SVP
• $  549,172:  Jonathan Duncan, VP
• $  545,850:  Kevin Lennon, VP
• $  547,054:  Robert Williams, SVP
• $  431,415:  Scott Bearby, Managing Director
• $  425,382:  Theresa Gronau, VP
• $  417,024:  David Schnase, VP
• $  412,948:  Lynn Holzman, VP
• $  383,368:   Naima Stevenson, VP

The 16 employees listed above received $13 million in compensation. 10 of the 16 (63%) of the most highly compensated employees are male while 6 (37%) are female. 7 of the 10 most highly compensated employees are male while 3 are female.

The most highly compensated employee was Mark Emmert, the President who received $15 million in compensation from 2017-2021:

• 2021:  $2,991,112  
• 2020: $2,908,114
• 2019:  $2,719,779
• 2018:  $3,890,497
• 2017:  $2,433,207

The second most highly compensated employee was Donald Remy, the COO who received $7  million in compensation from 2017-2021:

• 2021: $1,761,612
• 2020: $1,697,971
• 2019:  $1,332,737
• 2018:  $1,268,374
• 2017:  $  996,535

The NCAA paid for first class or charter travel. Specifically, the NCAA paid for chartered business travel, when necessary due to scheduling for the President, COO, SVP’s (1), nd highly compensated employees (2). This was a non-taxable business expense.

The NCAA paid for companion travel. Specifically, the NCAA paid for companion travel for the President.