Mississippi SWAC schools among smallest athletic budgets in Division 1

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Mississippi’s SWAC schools have three of the 10 smallest athletic budgets in Division 1, according to a study released Thursday by USA Today.

The study found that among the 347 colleges and universities that compete in the NCAA’s top division, Jackson State ranked 337, Alcorn ranked 341 and Mississippi Valley State spent less than any other school in the country.

More troubling is the revelation that all three schools rank at or near the bottom in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in terms of both spending and revenue.

Records show Jackson State had the seventh-largest budget in the 10-team conference with a total operating budget of $7.6 million.

That’s nearly $1 million more than Alcorn State ($6.75 million), which ranked ninth in the league, and $3.3 million more than Mississippi Valley State ($4.29 million), which was last.

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