Vanderbilt University in Tennessee spends the most on athletic student aid for men's teams, reporting $8.9 million in student aid for 2016, or $49,973 per male player, according to a Higher Education Tribune analysis of the latest federal data.
Tulane University of Louisiana, Northwestern University in Illinois, University of Miami in Florida and Southern Methodist University in Texas also spent more than $44,000 on student per athlete.
Data in this analysis is from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education, which compiles athletics data annually from more than 2,000 schools receiving federal financial aid.
More than 1,300 of those schools provide student aid to players on men's teams. In all, they spent more than $2.1 billion in 2016 on aid for 238,546 players.
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Men's athletic student aid
| School | State | Division | Undergraduate Enrollment | Men's Team Athletic Student Aid | Total Men's Team Participation | Student Aid Per Athlete |
| Vanderbilt University | TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 6,808 | $8,895,189 | 178 | $49,973 |
| Tulane University of Louisiana | LA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 6,487 | $9,060,172 | 184 | $49,240 |
| Northwestern University | IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 8,249 | $10,648,030 | 235 | $45,311 |
| University of Miami | FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 10,102 | $10,199,387 | 229 | $44,539 |
| Southern Methodist University | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 6,294 | $9,931,611 | 224 | $44,338 |
| Texas Christian University | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 8,591 | $10,349,740 | 296 | $34,965 |
| Wake Forest University | NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 4,899 | $10,087,254 | 306 | $32,965 |
| University of Tulsa | OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 3,248 | $8,720,108 | 277 | $31,481 |
| Baylor University | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14,087 | $8,565,588 | 273 | $31,376 |
| Rice University | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 3,824 | $8,474,271 | 278 | $30,483 |
| University of Maryland-College Park | MD | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26,174 | $9,025,886 | 311 | $29,022 |
| Clemson University | SC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17,849 | $9,027,569 | 315 | $28,659 |
| University of Southern California | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18,070 | $8,949,482 | 314 | $28,502 |
| Auburn University | AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20,260 | $8,719,706 | 306 | $28,496 |
| Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | LA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 23,036 | $7,959,374 | 286 | $27,830 |
| University of Notre Dame | IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 8,480 | $13,129,023 | 477 | $27,524 |
| University of Denver | CO | NCAA Division I without football | 5,478 | $5,152,261 | 192 | $26,835 |
| Boston College | MA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 9,486 | $10,850,474 | 406 | $26,725 |
| Quinnipiac University | CT | NCAA Division I without football | 6,784 | $4,346,114 | 165 | $26,340 |
| University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18,129 | $8,134,547 | 313 | $25,989 |
| Temple University | PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26,128 | $6,861,330 | 265 | $25,892 |
| University of Richmond | VA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 2,998 | $5,570,186 | 223 | $24,978 |
| Stanford University | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 7,032 | $12,710,756 | 510 | $24,923 |
| University of Toledo | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 12,810 | $5,017,629 | 203 | $24,717 |
| University of Arizona | AZ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 29,049 | $7,256,670 | 295 | $24,599 |
| University of San Francisco | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 6,413 | $2,950,066 | 121 | $24,381 |
| Pepperdine University | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 3,220 | $3,543,730 | 147 | $24,107 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 27,833 | $13,184,011 | 547 | $24,102 |
| Elon University | NC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 5,854 | $5,158,889 | 217 | $23,774 |
| The University of Alabama | AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 29,071 | $8,602,048 | 362 | $23,763 |
| Wofford College | SC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 1,664 | $5,871,430 | 249 | $23,580 |
| Syracuse University | NY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14,324 | $8,533,414 | 362 | $23,573 |
| Miami University-Oxford | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16,109 | $6,829,377 | 292 | $23,388 |
| Hofstra University | NY | NCAA Division I without football | 6,462 | $3,474,330 | 149 | $23,318 |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus | VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15,420 | $9,913,326 | 426 | $23,271 |
| University of Colorado Boulder | CO | NCAA Division I-FBS | 25,692 | $6,268,229 | 270 | $23,216 |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20,719 | $7,458,293 | 322 | $23,162 |
| Furman University | SC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 2,691 | $8,001,191 | 347 | $23,058 |
| University of Central Florida | FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 38,228 | $5,039,079 | 219 | $23,009 |
| Western Michigan University | MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14,999 | $4,992,085 | 218 | $22,899 |
| University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18,218 | $7,871,379 | 350 | $22,490 |
| Cumberland University | TN | NAIA Division I | 1,265 | $4,502,412 | 201 | $22,400 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 39,883 | $11,645,319 | 524 | $22,224 |
| West Virginia University | WV | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20,524 | $6,344,059 | 288 | $22,028 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 32,126 | $7,249,870 | 330 | $21,969 |
| Seton Hall University | NJ | NCAA Division I without football | 5,484 | $2,776,385 | 127 | $21,861 |
| Duke University | NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 6,449 | $10,090,804 | 463 | $21,794 |
| Menlo College | CA | NAIA Division I | 760 | $2,761,120 | 127 | $21,741 |
| University of Nevada-Las Vegas | NV | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18,237 | $4,795,027 | 221 | $21,697 |
| University of Hawaii at Manoa | HI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 10,676 | $5,375,189 | 250 | $21,501 |
| University of Oregon | OR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18,309 | $5,958,582 | 279 | $21,357 |
| University of Mississippi | MS | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17,649 | $5,727,552 | 269 | $21,292 |
| Boston University | MA | NCAA Division I without football | 16,199 | $6,375,861 | 300 | $21,253 |
| University of Utah | UT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17,081 | $5,367,606 | 253 | $21,216 |
| St John's University-New York | NY | NCAA Division I without football | 11,468 | $3,402,863 | 162 | $21,005 |
| Mississippi State University | MS | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16,134 | $5,591,844 | 267 | $20,943 |
| University of the Pacific | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 3,375 | $3,263,074 | 156 | $20,917 |
| Mercer University | GA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 4,012 | $5,391,103 | 258 | $20,896 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus | IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 29,301 | $7,009,539 | 337 | $20,800 |
| University of Delaware | DE | NCAA Division I-FCS | 17,736 | $5,636,736 | 273 | $20,647 |
| Saint Mary's College of California | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 2,590 | $2,703,797 | 131 | $20,640 |
| Providence College | RI | NCAA Division I without football | 3,768 | $4,120,148 | 201 | $20,498 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | GA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 13,698 | $6,752,951 | 330 | $20,463 |
| Old Dominion University | VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15,173 | $5,728,562 | 281 | $20,386 |
| University of Arkansas | AR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 19,774 | $6,230,812 | 308 | $20,230 |
| LIU Brooklyn | NY | NCAA Division I without football | 3,749 | $2,406,685 | 119 | $20,224 |
| University of Connecticut | CT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18,538 | $8,128,570 | 402 | $20,220 |
| Loyola Marymount University | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 5,987 | $3,458,044 | 172 | $20,105 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 28,201 | $8,982,866 | 447 | $20,096 |
| Hope International University | CA | NAIA Division I | 726 | $2,188,854 | 109 | $20,081 |
| University of Kentucky | KY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20,772 | $7,119,237 | 358 | $19,886 |
| University of California-Los Angeles | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 30,329 | $7,108,829 | 358 | $19,857 |
| Oregon State University | OR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18,395 | $5,513,426 | 278 | $19,832 |
| Ball State University | IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15,018 | $4,323,223 | 219 | $19,741 |
| Northeastern University | MA | NCAA Division I without football | 13,345 | $5,817,611 | 295 | $19,721 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia | SC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 23,947 | $6,309,350 | 321 | $19,655 |
| Arizona State University-Tempe | AZ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 38,761 | $7,352,658 | 376 | $19,555 |
| Fordham University | NY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 8,725 | $7,657,955 | 394 | $19,436 |
| University of Louisville | KY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 12,325 | $6,249,734 | 323 | $19,349 |
| University of Nevada-Reno | NV | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15,390 | $3,764,400 | 195 | $19,305 |
| Indiana University-Bloomington | IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 31,884 | $8,487,821 | 441 | $19,247 |
| Middle Tennessee State University | TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15,985 | $5,139,217 | 268 | $19,176 |
| Northern Illinois University | IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 12,323 | $4,609,538 | 242 | $19,048 |
| Marshall University | WV | NCAA Division I-FBS | 7,917 | $4,273,094 | 226 | $18,907 |
| Drexel University | PA | NCAA Division I without football | 13,258 | $4,944,823 | 262 | $18,873 |
| Ohio University-Main Campus | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17,794 | $4,486,829 | 238 | $18,852 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | WA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 28,165 | $7,207,944 | 384 | $18,771 |
| Colgate University | NY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 2,864 | $7,150,146 | 383 | $18,669 |
| The University of Texas at El Paso | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 13,321 | $3,546,854 | 191 | $18,570 |
| Washington State University | WA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21,534 | $5,640,422 | 306 | $18,433 |
| University of Georgia | GA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26,252 | $5,950,965 | 323 | $18,424 |
| San Diego State University | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26,530 | $4,155,385 | 226 | $18,387 |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 8,941 | $1,745,432 | 95 | $18,373 |
| University of Kansas | KS | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16,987 | $5,651,875 | 310 | $18,232 |
| Houston Baptist University | TX | NCAA Division I-FCS | 2,160 | $4,288,304 | 237 | $18,094 |
| New Mexico State University-Main Campus | NM | NCAA Division I-FBS | 9,825 | $3,533,171 | 196 | $18,026 |
| Coastal Carolina University | SC | Other | 8,828 | $4,919,401 | 273 | $18,020 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 37,026 | $6,672,286 | 371 | $17,985 |
| George Washington University | DC | NCAA Division I without football | 10,343 | $4,678,883 | 261 | $17,927 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst | MA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21,340 | $6,847,785 | 384 | $17,833 |
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