Northwestern University football brought in $375,549 per athlete in revenue in 2016, making it the highest-grossing football program in the state that year, according to a North Cook News analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.
The university’s football program brought in a total of nearly $38.7 million in 2016.
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 |
| Northwestern University | NCAA Division I-FBS | 8,249 | 103 | $38,681,564 | $375,549 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | NCAA Division I-FBS | 32,126 | 102 | $35,622,414 | $349,239 |
| Northern Illinois University | NCAA Division I-FBS | 12,323 | 113 | $8,035,152 | $71,108 |
| Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | NCAA Division I-FCS | 10,509 | 103 | $4,048,610 | $39,307 |
| Illinois State University | NCAA Division I-FCS | 17,420 | 114 | $4,016,804 | $35,235 |
| Western Illinois University | NCAA Division I-FCS | 7,482 | 105 | $3,258,851 | $31,037 |
| Eastern Illinois University | NCAA Division I-FCS | 5,117 | 100 | $2,704,490 | $27,045 |
| Trinity International University-Illinois | NAIA Division I | 631 | 84 | $1,440,608 | $17,150 |
| Robert Morris University Illinois | NAIA Division II | 2,253 | 190 | $3,157,992 | $16,621 |
| University of St Francis | NAIA Division II | 1,320 | 99 | $1,428,374 | $14,428 |
| Quincy University | NCAA Division II with football | 1,035 | 115 | $1,569,700 | $13,650 |
| Saint Xavier University | NAIA Division II | 2,599 | 80 | $1,085,254 | $13,566 |
| Olivet Nazarene University | NAIA Division II | 3,019 | 117 | $1,442,785 | $12,331 |
| McKendree University | NCAA Division II with football | 1,820 | 148 | $1,667,870 | $11,269 |
| University of Chicago | NCAA Division III with football | 5,956 | 99 | $667,320 | $6,741 |
| Millikin University | NCAA Division III with football | 1,796 | 102 | $606,674 | $5,948 |
| Knox College | NCAA Division III with football | 1,325 | 55 | $326,779 | $5,941 |
| Concordia University-Chicago | NCAA Division III with football | 1,355 | 82 | $448,175 | $5,466 |
| Wheaton College | NCAA Division III with football | 2,400 | 112 | $589,030 | $5,259 |
| Benedictine University | NCAA Division III with football | 2,687 | 105 | $547,730 | $5,216 |
| North Central College | NCAA Division III with football | 2,534 | 132 | $676,125 | $5,122 |
| Augustana College | NCAA Division III with football | 2,514 | 127 | $592,355 | $4,664 |
| Greenville College | NCAA Division III with football | 913 | 87 | $397,006 | $4,563 |
| Aurora University | NCAA Division III with football | 3,302 | 111 | $501,877 | $4,521 |
| North Park University | NCAA Division III with football | 1,884 | 107 | $475,315 | $4,442 |
| Lake Forest College | NCAA Division III with football | 1,502 | 83 | $364,573 | $4,392 |
| MacMurray College | NCAA Division III with football | 531 | 82 | $344,656 | $4,203 |
| Monmouth College | NCAA Division III with football | 1,124 | 97 | $396,530 | $4,088 |
| Elmhurst College | NCAA Division III with football | 2,682 | 124 | $481,220 | $3,881 |
| Illinois College | NCAA Division III with football | 949 | 105 | $398,359 | $3,794 |
| Rockford University | NCAA Division III with football | 909 | 79 | $267,005 | $3,380 |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | NCAA Division III with football | 1,760 | 113 | $379,453 | $3,358 |
| College of DuPage | NJCAA Division III | 6,335 | 97 | $318,223 | $3,281 |
| Eureka College | NCAA Division III with football | 644 | 72 | $225,072 | $3,126 |
| Highland Community College | NJCAA Division I | 823 | 92 | $0 |
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