West Central Reporter

McDonough County's institution invested $3,891,295 on their football teams in 2024, a 44.7%% increase in funding from the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

This represents 28.1% of all money invested on sport teams at Western Illinois University during 2024.

The average sports expenses at McDonough County have grown 38% since 2010.

College football is one of the biggest sports in the U.S., with some college teams eclipsing NFL teams in terms of attendance and profit.

College athletes can now be paid directly by schools after a settlement approved in early July, which also requires the NCAA to pay $2.8 billion in back damages over 10 years to athletes who played from 2016 to the present. 

In 2022, after years of legal and legislative pressure, athletes also gained the right to profit from their names, images and likenesses through state laws and an NCAA policy change.

Year	Football Team's Expenditures	% from grand total sport team expenditures
2024	$3,891,295	28.1%
2023	$2,688,848	32.9%
2022	$3,104,498	26.6%
2021	$2,688,848	25.1%
2020	$3,029,020	26.9%

Information in this story was obtained from the U.S. Department of Education. The source data can be found here.