create the rules they want to operate under. The schools even decide how much power the NCAA HQ in Indianapolis has to enforce the rules. If you think about it, then eventually you will realize that the structure of the NCAA is no different than any other self-governing organization. If you look at any pro league in North America, then you will see that the owners have the real power and the league's commissioner acts on the behalf of the owners. You will never see a commissioner do something that goes against the wishes of the owners or at least the majority of the owners in some cases. If you can find an example, then I can pretty much guarantee that the commissioner is longer employed with the league. So a better way to look at the structure of the NCAA is the schools are the pro club owners (i.e. NFL owners, NBA owners, MLB owners, or NHL owners). The same is true when you realize the majority of "NCAA decisions" are really made one of the various committees. FWIW each division level has its own committees and there are a couple committees that cross division levels. If you look at the roster of any of the DI committees, then you will see that majority of the members on the committee are representatives of the various NCAA members (aka schools). This is a reason you will see posters, including myself, make statements on here like "the schools ARE the NCAA" because that is how the schools chose to structure the organization when it was created in the early 1900s. However, most people find it much easier to blame individuals than on groups especially if their favorite school is apart of the group, so people mistakenly think the NCAA President is the NCAA when that person is really only acting as the face of the organization. This concept is important to understand because it will answer your question about whether the "NCAA" profits or not. If you look any NCAA financial statements, I referring specifically to the reports made by the NCAA HQ in Indianapolis, then you will see the NCAA HQ primarily serves as a pass thru when it comes to the flow of money. About 60% of the revenue generated by the "NCAA" is distributed directly to the DI members. About 4-5% is distributed directly to the DII members and 3-4% is directly distributed to directly to the DIII members. So the NCAA HQ really only keeps approximately 31-33% of the revenue to cover admin costs and other operating expenses (i.e. cost to run all the post season tournaments). If you ever have the opportunity to see the NCAA HQ's proposed budget for a fiscal year, then you will discover it is a lot smaller than it could be given the size of the association.