St. Cloud Sun

Stearns County's two colleges did not fund their football teams in 2024, the same as in the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The average sports expenses at Stearns County have grown 42.3% 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.

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