Memphis Standard

Shelby County's five colleges invested $20,661,446 on their football teams in 2023, a 16.5% increase in funding from the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

This represents 26.2% of all money invested on sport teams at the five colleges in the county during 2023.

The average sports expenses at Shelby County have grown 80.3% since 2010.

University of Memphis stood out as the university in Shelby County which received the most football funding during 2023. The institution received $20,020,832 — or 96.9% of all the money destined to football teams.

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.

In 2022, after a decades-long fight, student athletes nationwide gained the right to profit from their names, likenesses, and images as a result of a flurry of new state laws and an NCAA policy change.

Year	Football Team's Expenditures	% from grand total sport team expenditures
2023	$20,661,446	26.2%
2022	$17,730,535	25.1%
2021	$14,113,109	24.6%
2020	$21,446,039	29.4%
2019	$18,436,516	27.7%