Prairie State Wire

Northwestern University football brought in $375,549 per athlete in revenue in 2016, making it the highest-grossing football program in Illinois that year, according to a Prairie State Wire analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

The university’s football program brought in a total of nearly $38.7 million in 2016. 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign brought in the second-highest amount of revenue per athlete – $349,239 – followed by Northern Illinois University with $71,108.

The U.S. Department of Education’s office of postsecondary education collects athletics data annually from all institutions with intercollegiate athletics programs that receive funding through federal financial aid programs. Data for 2016 – the latest year available – includes more than 2,000 schools nationwide.

Illinois' 35 schools with football programs reported $117,163,945  in revenue in 2016.

Illinois college football revenue

	School	Division	Enrollment	Football Total Participation	Football Revenue	Revenue Per Athlete
1	Northwestern University	NCAA Division I-FBS	8,249	103	$38,681,564	$375,549
2	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	NCAA Division I-FBS	32,126	102	$35,622,414	$349,239
3	Northern Illinois University	NCAA Division I-FBS	12,323	113	$8,035,152	$71,108
4	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	NCAA Division I-FCS	10,509	103	$4,048,610	$39,307
5	Illinois State University	NCAA Division I-FCS	17,420	114	$4,016,804	$35,235
6	Western Illinois University	NCAA Division I-FCS	7,482	105	$3,258,851	$31,037
7	Eastern Illinois University	NCAA Division I-FCS	5,117	100	$2,704,490	$27,045
8	Trinity International University-Illinois	NAIA Division I	631	84	$1,440,608	$17,150
9	Robert Morris University Illinois	NAIA Division II	2,253	190	$3,157,992	$16,621
10	University of St Francis	NAIA Division II	1,320	99	$1,428,374	$14,428
11	Quincy University	NCAA Division II with football	1,035	115	$1,569,700	$13,650
12	Saint Xavier University	NAIA Division II	2,599	80	$1,085,254	$13,566
13	Olivet Nazarene University	NAIA Division II	3,019	117	$1,442,785	$12,331
14	McKendree University	NCAA Division II with football	1,820	148	$1,667,870	$11,269
15	University of Chicago	NCAA Division III with football	5,956	99	$667,320	$6,741
16	Millikin University	NCAA Division III with football	1,796	102	$606,674	$5,948
17	Knox College	NCAA Division III with football	1,325	55	$326,779	$5,941
18	Concordia University-Chicago	NCAA Division III with football	1,355	82	$448,175	$5,466
19	Wheaton College	NCAA Division III with football	2,400	112	$589,030	$5,259
20	Benedictine University	NCAA Division III with football	2,687	105	$547,730	$5,216
21	North Central College	NCAA Division III with football	2,534	132	$676,125	$5,122
22	Augustana College	NCAA Division III with football	2,514	127	$592,355	$4,664
23	Greenville College	NCAA Division III with football	913	87	$397,006	$4,563
24	Aurora University	NCAA Division III with football	3,302	111	$501,877	$4,521
25	North Park University	NCAA Division III with football	1,884	107	$475,315	$4,442
26	Lake Forest College	NCAA Division III with football	1,502	83	$364,573	$4,392
27	MacMurray College	NCAA Division III with football	531	82	$344,656	$4,203
28	Monmouth College	NCAA Division III with football	1,124	97	$396,530	$4,088
29	Elmhurst College	NCAA Division III with football	2,682	124	$481,220	$3,881
30	Illinois College	NCAA Division III with football	949	105	$398,359	$3,794
31	Rockford University	NCAA Division III with football	909	79	$267,005	$3,380
32	Illinois Wesleyan University	NCAA Division III with football	1,760	113	$379,453	$3,358
33	College of DuPage	NJCAA Division III	6,335	97	$318,223	$3,281
34	Eureka College	NCAA Division III with football	644	72	$225,072	$3,126
35	Highland Community College	NJCAA Division I	823	92		$0

Source: U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education