Ohio State Buckeyes players stand on the field after the game between the Indiana Hoosiers and Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio.
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Major college sports programs collectively generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and private investors are looking to get a piece of the money.
But how much are college sports programs worth?
That’s the question CNBC sought to answer after speaking with people in the private equity industry looking to invest in college sports.
Below, CNBC ranks the 75 most valuable college athletic programs. This ranking does not include military academies and is limited to schools participating in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which tends to attract top players.
Ohio State University is the most valuable athletic program, worth an estimated $1.27 billion. The Buckeyes will generate $280 million in revenue in 2023, more than any other school. The other factor that propelled the Buckeyes to the top of the rankings is their graduate base of more than one. 600,000a fan base of over 11 million people, boosters who donated nearly $60 million last year, and regular attendance More than 100,000 people participated in the game.
It’s no surprise that the top of the list is dominated by SEC and Big Ten schools. This is largely due to each conference’s huge media rights deals.
The SEC is worth $13.3 billion, averaging $832 million per school. The Big Ten follows with $13.2 billion, for an average of $734 million per school. The ACC is $9.6 billion, or $562 million per school. and the Big 12 at $6.7 billion, or $420 million per school.
The information used to compile the evaluation is Athletic Director UHe has advised universities on name, image and likeness deals and is now doing the same for athletic departments seeking private equity. AthleticDirectorU has an extensive database of college athletic program finances and information.
Revenue figures are from the Department of Education. Fairness data analysis in athletics and Knight Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics This list reflects the current enterprise value of each program. We start with a base revenue multiple of 4 for all institutions and adjust for multiples for variables such as conference affiliation, estimated NIL spending, and school aid. the number of graduates and other factors that may drive future revenue growth and profitability;
CNBC and Belzer also tapped the expertise of several people familiar with evaluating athletic programs to determine the rankings, but requested anonymity to discuss details of the programs.
University athletics club evaluation 2024
| rank | program | evaluation | revenue | meeting | city | possession |
| 1. | ohio state university | $1.32 billion | $280 million | big ten | columbus ohio | public |
| 2. | University of Texas at Austin | $1.28 billion | $271 million | SEC | Austin, Texas | public |
| 3. | Texas A&M University | $1.26 billion | $279 million | SEC | college station, texas | public |
| 4. | University of Michigan | $1.06 billion | $230 million | big ten | Ann Arbor, Michigan | public |
| 5. | University of Alabama | $978 million | 200 million dollars | SEC | tuscaloosa, alabama | public |
| 6. | University of Notre Dame | $969 million | $224 million | ACC | Notre Dame, Indiana | private |
| 7. | University of Georgia | $950 million | $210 million | SEC | Athens, Georgia | public |
| 8. | University of Nebraska | $943 million | $205 million | big ten | lincoln, nebraska | public |
| 9. | University of Tennessee | $940 million | $202 million | SEC | knoxville, tennessee | public |
| 10. | University of Oklahoma | $928 million | $199 million | SEC | Norman, Oklahoma | public |
| 11. | pennsylvania state university | $924 million | $202 million | big ten | University Park, Pennsylvania | public |
| 12. | University of Southern California | $923 million | $212 million | big ten | Los Angeles, California | private |
| 13. | louisiana state university | $916 million | 200 million dollars | SEC | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | public |
| 14. | University of Florida | $865 million | $189 million | SEC | Gainesville, Florida | public |
| 15. | University of Wisconsin | $838 million | $198 million | big ten | Madison, Wisconsin | public |
| 16. | Clemson University | 800 million dollars | $196 million | ACC | Clemson, South Carolina | public |
| 17. | University of Oregon | $780 million | $151 million | big ten | Eugene, Oregon | public |
| 18. | University of Arkansas | $776 million | $167 million | SEC | fayetteville, arkansas | public |
| 19. | University of Kentucky | $775 million | $174 million | SEC | Lexington, Kentucky | public |
| 20. | auburn university | $772 million | $195 million | SEC | Auburn, Alabama | public |
| twenty one. | University of Iowa | $747 million | $167 million | big ten | Iowa City, Iowa | public |
| twenty two. | michigan state university | $740 million | $171 million | big ten | East Lansing, Michigan | public |
| twenty three. | stanford university | $687 million | $180 million | ACC | Stanford, California | private |
| twenty four. | florida state university | $673 million | $170 million | ACC | Tallahassee, Florida | public |
| twenty five. | University of Illinois | $665 million | $148 million | big ten | champaign, illinois | public |
| 26. | duke university | $659 million | $153 million | ACC | Durham, North Carolina | private |
| 27. | University of Washington | $658 million | $152 million | big ten | Seattle, Washington | public |
| 28. | indiana university | $653 million | $145 million | big ten | Indianapolis, Indiana | public |
| 29. | university of mississippi | $651 million | $142 million | SEC | oxford, mississippi | public |
| 30. | University of South Carolina | $650 million | $160 million | SEC | columbia south carolina | public |
| 31. | University of Miami | $639 million | $160 million | ACC | Coral Gables, Florida | private |
| 32. | University of Minnesota | $637 million | $149 million | big ten | Minneapolis, Minnesota | public |
| 33. | Texas Tech University | $619 million | $147 million | big 12 | Lubbock, Texas | public |
| 34. | University of Louisville | $595 million | $143 million | ACC | Louisville, Kentucky | public |
| 35. | University of Missouri | $590 million | $142 million | SEC | Columbia, Missouri | public |
| 36. | north carolina state university | $581 million | $121 million | ACC | raleigh, north carolina | public |
| 37. | purdue university | $567 million | $124 million | big ten | West Lafayette, Indiana | public |
| 38. | University of Kansas | $553 million | $128 million | big 12 | Lawrence, Kansas | public |
| 39. | Vanderbilt University | $551 million | $125 million | SEC | Nashville, Tennessee | private |
| 40. | texas christian university | $542 million | $149 million | big 12 | Fort Worth, Texas | private |
| 41. | UNC-Chapel Hill | $539 million | $139 million | ACC | chapel hill, north carolina | public |
| 42. | University of Arizona | $532 million | $143 million | big 12 | Tucson, Arizona | public |
| 43. | University of Pittsburgh | $524 million | $137 million | ACC | pittsburgh, pennsylvania | public |
| 44. | mississippi state university | $523 million | $116 million | SEC | Starkville, Mississippi | public |
| 45. | baylor university | $513 million | $137 million | big 12 | Waco, Texas | private |
| 46. | University of Virginia | $506 million | $141 million | ACC | Charlottesville, Virginia | public |
| 47. | oklahoma state university | 500 million dollars | $122 million | big 12 | Stillwater, Oklahoma | public |
| 48. | Georgia Tech | $498 million | $134 million | ACC | atlanta, georgia | public |
| 49. | iowa state university | $492 million | $116 million | big 12 | Ames, Iowa | public |
| 50. | syracuse university | $487 million | $114 million | ACC | Syracuse, New York | private |
| 51. | northwestern university | $486 million | $118 million | big ten | Evanston, Illinois | private |
| 52. | University of Maryland | $477 million | $121 million | big ten | college park, maryland | public |
| 53. | Virginia Tech | $474 million | $130 million | ACC | blacksburg, virginia | public |
| 54. | University of California Los Angeles | $472 million | $105 million | big ten | Los Angeles, California | public |
| 55. | University of Colorado | $470 million | $127 million | big 12 | Boulder, Colorado | public |
| 56. | University of Utah | $468 million | $126 million | big 12 | Salt Lake City, Utah | public |
| 57. | kansas state university | $444 million | $102 million | big 12 | Manhattan, Kansas | public |
| 58. | boston college | $443 million | $118 million | ACC | Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | private |
| 59. | rutgers university | $417 million | $125 million | big ten | new brunswick new jersey | public |
| 60. | west virginia university | $403 million | $106 million | big 12 | Morgantown, West Virginia | public |
| 61. | washington state university | $392 million | $79 million | Pac-12 | Pullman, Washington | public |
| 62. | University of California, Berkeley | $386 million | $126 million | ACC | Berkeley, California | public |
| 63. | wake forest university | $362 million | $97 million | ACC | Winston Salem, North Carolina | private |
| 64. | brigham young university | $357 million | $106 million | big 12 | Provo, Utah | public |
| 65. | Southern Methodist University | $327 million | $86 million | ACC | dallas texas | private |
| 66. | oregon state university | $326 million | $92 million | Pac-12 | Corvallis, Oregon | public |
| 67. | san diego state university | $287 million | $104 million | M.W.C. | San Diego, California | public |
| 68. | arizona state university | $279 million | $115 million | big 12 | Tempe, Arizona | public |
| 69. | University of Cincinnati | $216 million | $87 million | big 12 | cincinnati, ohio | public |
| 70. | University of Central Florida | $181 million | $85 million | big 12 | Orlando, Florida | public |
| 71. | University of Connecticut | $178 million | $93 million | big east | Storrs, Connecticut | public |
| 72. | boise state university | $176 million | $61 million | M.W.C. | boise, idaho | public |
| 73. | east carolina university | $153 million | $63 million | AAC | Greenville, North Carolina | public |
| 74. | University of South Florida | $150 million | $71 million | AAC | tampa, florida | public |
| 75. | University of Memphis | $148 million | $64 million | AAC | memphis tennessee | public |
