College Basketball’s Richest Teams

College basketball really does pay.

For the schools that is.

In a story earlier this year on Forbes.com, the site listed the 20 richest college basketball teams.

The list was based on four factors that include, their university (money generated by basketball that goes to the institution for academic purposes, including scholarship payments for basketball players); athletic department (the net profit generated by the basketball program retained by the department); conference (the distribution of tournament revenue); and local communities (incremental spending by visitors to the county during the regular season that’s attributable to the program).

There are really no surprises here as it reads like an average weekly top 20 poll with the usual suspects listed. The teams listed account for 47 national championship and only four (Illinois, Texas, Missouri and Xavier) have never won a national title.

The Big Ten Conference has the most teams with five, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 have four each, and the Southeastern, Big East and Pacific 10 have two each.

1. University of North Carolina, Tar Heels
Value: $26.0 million
Profit: $16.9 million
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Roy Williams
Tar Heels season ticket holders donated a total of $5.3 million to the athletic department’s booster club last year to secure the right to buy tickets.

2. University of Kentucky, Wildcats
Value: $24.9 million
Profit: $15.4 million
Conference: SEC
Head Coach: Billy Gillispie
Kentucky’s basketball program accounts for 70% of the athletic department’s 10-year, $80 million multi-media deal with IMG College Sports.

3. University of Louisville, Cardinals
Value: $24.4 million
Profit: $17.1 million
Conference: Big East
Head Coach: Rick Pitino
The Cardinals had the highest revenue ($23.2 million) and greatest profit of any college basketball program last year.

4. University of Arizona, Wildcats
Value: $22.7 million
Profit: $13.2 million
Conference: Pac 10
Head Coach: Lute Olson*
Securing a pair of courtside seats at Arizona’s McKale Center for the entire season requires a donation to the athletics department of up to $40,000.

5. Duke University, Blue Devils
Value: $22.6 million
Profit: $11.1 million
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski
Basketball Hall of Famer Coach K is serving double duty: drawing up X’s and O’s for both Duke and the U.S. National Team heading to the Beijing Olympics next summer.

6. Indiana University, Hoosiers
Value: $19.4 million
Profit: $13.5 million
Conference: BigTen
Head Coach: Kelvin Sampson
Hoosier Hysteria is as strong as ever with Indiana earning a $13.5 million profit last year, including donations for season ticket reservations.

6. University of Illinois, Fighting Illini
Value: $19.4 million
Profit: $12.2 million
Conference: BigTen
Head Coach: Bruce Weber
Last year, the Illinois Athletic Department generated $1.3 million in advertising and sponsorship revenue from basketball games broadcast on the athletic department-owned Illini Sports Radio Network.

8. University of Kansas, Jayhawks
Value: $16.0 million
Profit: $8.3 million
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Bill Self
A $65 million, 10-year multi-media deal with Host Communications (now IMG College Sports) signed in April will be a boon to the team’s value.

9. University of Wisconsin, Badgers
Value: $15.7 million
Profit: $9.6 million
Conference: BigTen
Head Coach: Bo Ryan
The Badgers generated almost $15 million in revenue last year en route to their 9th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

10. Ohio State University, Buckeyes
Value: $15.3 million
Profit: $8.9 million
Conference: BigTen
Head Coach: Thad Matta
Ohio State is the only athletic department in the nation that can lay claim to having a team in the top 10 in Forbes’ college basketball and college football rankings.

11. University of Texas, Longhorns
Value: $15.0 million
Profit: $8.2 million
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Rick Barnes
At $1 million last year, Longhorns men’s basketball is responsible for more donations to academics than any other hoops team in the Big 12.

12. University of Missouri, Tigers
Value: $14.5 million
Profit: $9.8 million
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Mike Anderson
Priority ticket donations for Mizzou basketball totaled $4.3 million last season, nine times more than football.

13. North Carolina State University, Wolfpack
Value: $13.6 million
Profit: $7.9 million
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Sidney Lowe
Lowe, a former NBA head coach, took the reigns of his alma mater last year and promptly beat state-rivals Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest for the first time in 4 years.

13. University of California Los Angeles, Bruins
Value: $13.6 million
Profit: $7.0 million
Conference: Pac 10
Head Coach: Ben Howland
The most storied team in college hoops saw operating income increase 14% last season with a berth in their second consecutive Final Four.

15. Oklahoma State University, Cowboys
Value: $13.5 million
Profit: $8.7 million
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Sean Sutton
Sutton’s appointment as head coach last year had to first be approved by billionaire donor T. Boone Pickens, whose gifts to OSU athletics total an estimated $242 million since 2003.

16. Michigan State University, Spartans
Value: $13.4 million
Profit: $6.8 million
Conference: BigTen
Head Coach: Tom Izzo
Spartans basketball made $6.8 million last season after being over $1 million in the red the year before because of a hefty bonus paid to Izzo.

17. University of Maryland, Terrapins
Value: $13.1 million
Profit: $7.3 million
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Gary Williams
A Terrapins ticket is perhaps toughest to come by in all of college hoops, as only students and season ticket holders fill the 17,950-seat Comcast Center on game day.

18. Syracuse University, Orange
Value: $12.7 million
Profit: $7.0 million
Conference: Big East
Head Coach: Jim Boeheim
With 473,353 total spectators, more fans packed the Carrier Dome than any venue in college basketball last season.

19. University of Arkansas, Razorbacks
Value: $12.6 million
Profit: $9.2 million
Conference: SEC
Head Coach: John Pelphrey
At 16,822 per game, Arkansas had the highest average attendance in the SEC West Division last year.

20. Xavier University, Musketeers
Value: $10.7 million
Profit: $6.3 million
Conference: Atlantic 10
Head Coach: Sean Miller
The Musketeers are the most valuable mid-major basketball program in the country, due in large part to its lucrative seat licensing program.