WSJ: How Much Is Your College-Basketball Team Worth?

[ppp098]

Marquette comes in at #25 most valuable

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-much-is-your-college-basketball-team-worth-1522670400

The Wall Street Journal

How Much Is Your College-Basketball Team Worth?

Although Kentucky retains the top spot, the Big Ten and ACC dominate in our annual valuation of NCAA teams

Andrew BeatonApril 2, 2018 8:00 a.m. ET
The Big Ten has seven of the top 14 valuations, while the ACC has four of the top 11.
The Big Ten has seven of the top 14 valuations, while the ACC has four of the top 11. Photo: brian spurlock/Reuters

By
Andrew Beaton
The big money of college basketball has never been in the news as much as it has during this past season. So before Monday's national championship between Michigan and Villanova, it's time to settle a different but relevant question: What's the most valuable program in the country?

For the second straight season, it's Kentucky, according to an annual study by Ryan Brewer, an associate professor of finance at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus. Kentucky is worth $246.6 million, but that's 28% lower than a year ago—with valuations across the sport down 7.4%.

Brewer assesses what every college team would be worth on the open market if it could be bought and sold like a professional franchise. The study analyzes each program's revenues and expenses with cash-flow adjustments, risk assessments and growth projections.

While Brewer found that cash flows were up 7.1% over last year, the overall values tumbled because of the headwinds facing the sport that haven't shown up in balance sheets yet but have the potential to challenge the future of the sport. Those questions include broad ones about amateurism and more specific issues, such as the ones raised by the federal probe resulting in 10 arrests and which alleged a system of corruption, bribery and kickbacks.

"In particular for college basketball, the FBI investigation attacks the very heart of the industry," Brewer said. "The reason for the drop in the valuation is that new risk."

These issues hurt the value of schools tied to the investigation, Brewer noted, and more generally big-time programs that could be affected by any fallout. He added that TV and media ratings for conference tournaments and NCAA tournament games so far showed a mixed bag of results.

Overall, while an SEC team in Kentucky has the top spot in these rankings, the Big Ten and ACC dominate the top of the rankings: The Big Ten has seven of the top 14 valuations, while the ACC has four of the top 11.

For the Big Ten, that doesn't include Michigan, the No. 3 seed playing for this season's championship. The Wolverines are the eighth most valuable team in their own conference, according to Brewer, at $95.4 million. That's still more than their opponent Monday night, No. 1 seed Villanova, at $43.1 million.

[🏀]

This will help recruiting

[Bocephys]

That $2.7 million backslide represents Scoop's revenue losses when Chicos and Ners were both banned.  Expect a rebound in 2018.

[Mods, Delete me please. 8/26/2020]

Can you show top 50 or so?   WSJ paywall....

[Benny B]

Well, at least we finally beat Michigan State.


EDIT:  And we finally finished #1 in the Big East.

[ppp098]

Here you go

[ppp098]

Next set

[ppp098]

Final set

[Benny B]

Great.  Just what we need at #20.  Let the flame session begin.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Dayton!  ABD!!!

[LoudMouth]

That $2.7 million backslide represents Scoop's revenue losses when Chicos and Ners were both banned.  Expect a rebound in 2018.

Are you assuming they will actually make it through the year without seeing the ban hammer?
Outlook not so good

[MDMU04]

How is Nova so low? Is it revenue side?

I can't believe the MU program is worth nearly 60% more than Villanova at this point.

[lurch91]

How is Nova so low? Is it revenue side?

I can't believe the MU program is worth nearly 60% more than Villanova at this point.

It has to include facilities, and with MU playing exclusively in the BMO and the "newly named" arena helps with the valuation - even if we don't own the building.

[dgies9156]

It has to include facilities, and with MU playing exclusively in the BMO and the "newly named" arena helps with the valuation - even if we don't own the building.

Ultimately, it has to do with the Wall Street Journal's estimation of total revenue, which includes gate receipts, memorabilia, television and tournament revenue.

Marquette benefits from a strong attendance and good memorabilia sales. Television and tournament revenue are split equally among all Big East members.

I did not see the entire list, but the Big East Team most likely to be nipping at our heels would be Creighton. Big arena. Always filled. Strong fan support in a small market but man do they pack them in.

Folks, this is why Marquette doesn't play more games in the Al.

[GGGG]

Regarding Nova, I was talking to a co-worker of mine who grew up in the Philadelphia area.  He said that they really don't have the widespread support in the city that you may think they do.  Now he is a Temple alum, so I don't know if you need to take this with a grain of salt, but that Temple is the big public university in the city.  And then there are multiple private schools that each have smaller, but very dedicated fan bases.  (LaSalle, St. Joes, Drexel, Penn)  To top it off, Nova really isn't even in the city.  More like a suburb like Germantown.

So it wouldn't surprise me if they don't have the same revenue that Marquette does.  I think we sometimes take it for granted, but for a relatively mid-sized private university, Marquette really has a great fanbase that goes beyond its alumni base.  This is probably because we don't have to really fight with an in-city rival for attention. 

[lurch91]

Regarding Nova, I was talking to a co-worker of mine who grew up in the Philadelphia area.  He said that they really don't have the widespread support in the city that you may think they do.  Now he is a Temple alum, so I don't know if you need to take this with a grain of salt, but that Temple is the big public university in the city.  And then there are multiple private schools that each have smaller, but very dedicated fan bases.  (LaSalle, St. Joes, Drexel, Penn)  To top it off, Nova really isn't even in the city.  More like a suburb like Germantown.

So it wouldn't surprise me if they don't have the same revenue that Marquette does.  I think we sometimes take it for granted, but for a relatively mid-sized private university, Marquette really has a great fanbase that goes beyond its alumni base.  This is probably because we don't have to really fight with an in-city rival for attention.

Very good point. Living in Indy for 20+ years, I see Butler having a similar relationship with Indy and Nova has with Philly.  Purdue and IU have almost unlimited support, and Butler is very much the 3rd option for most - unless you're an alum.

[GooooMarquette]

Regarding Nova, I was talking to a co-worker of mine who grew up in the Philadelphia area.  He said that they really don't have the widespread support in the city that you may think they do.  Now he is a Temple alum, so I don't know if you need to take this with a grain of salt, but that Temple is the big public university in the city.  And then there are multiple private schools that each have smaller, but very dedicated fan bases.  (LaSalle, St. Joes, Drexel, Penn)  To top it off, Nova really isn't even in the city.  More like a suburb like Germantown.

So it wouldn't surprise me if they don't have the same revenue that Marquette does.  I think we sometimes take it for granted, but for a relatively mid-sized private university, Marquette really has a great fanbase that goes beyond its alumni base.  This is probably because we don't have to really fight with an in-city rival for attention.

Probably a fair assessment. None of the other schools is as successful as Nova, but they have decent basketball histories and good fan support. The other D1 school in Milwaukee is big, but doesn't have much of either.

[MU82]

Regarding Nova, I was talking to a co-worker of mine who grew up in the Philadelphia area.  He said that they really don't have the widespread support in the city that you may think they do. 

This is absolutely true.

I have two brothers who live in Philly. They and all of their buddies are huge Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and Sixers fans. College basketball is relatively low on the totem pole. Kind of like in Chicago, but a little higher when one of the teams is very good.

My brothers wanted Nova to win once the tournament started, and they absolutely were rooting for Nova in the Final Four. But they don't get depressed or anything when Nova loses; heck, during the season, they pay just about no attention to them (or any of the other Philly teams).

In general, unless you're an alum, you don't even notice Philly college basketball much. As I said, similar to Chicago that way.

[Eldon]

Regarding Nova, I was talking to a co-worker of mine who grew up in the Philadelphia area.  He said that they really don't have the widespread support in the city that you may think they do.  Now he is a Temple alum, so I don't know if you need to take this with a grain of salt, but that Temple is the big public university in the city.  And then there are multiple private schools that each have smaller, but very dedicated fan bases.  (LaSalle, St. Joes, Drexel, Penn)  To top it off, Nova really isn't even in the city.  More like a suburb like Germantown.

So it wouldn't surprise me if they don't have the same revenue that Marquette does.  I think we sometimes take it for granted, but for a relatively mid-sized private university, Marquette really has a great fanbase that goes beyond its alumni base.  This is probably because we don't have to really fight with an in-city rival for attention.

I live in Philly and can confirm this.  Temple is definitely Philly's university (though, strictly speaking, it's only quasi-public).  It has its flags (with the "Temple T") all over the city, in part because it has different schools located in all parts of the city.  When their football team was really good a few years ago, the whole city was buzzing (though Penn State still dominates the college football market).

Villanova, on the other hand, is much smaller, and is technically not located in Philadelphia city/county.  It's on the "Main Line" which is seen as an uppity, Naperville-esque suburb.  Some people jokingly refer to Villanova as "Vanillanova."

Only half of St. Joe's campus is in Philly city/county proper.  LaSalle is tiny.  Penn's student body comes from all over the world.  And people often forget that Drexel exists (it used to be an engineering-focused school a la Purdue and GTech, but has very recently tried to expand/emphasize its other programs, e.g., it just opened a law school a few years ago).

[WarriorDad]

This is absolutely true.

I have two brothers who live in Philly. They and all of their buddies are huge Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and Sixers fans. College basketball is relatively low on the totem pole. Kind of like in Chicago, but a little higher when one of the teams is very good.

My brothers wanted Nova to win once the tournament started, and they absolutely were rooting for Nova in the Final Four. But they don't get depressed or anything when Nova loses; heck, during the season, they pay just about no attention to them (or any of the other Philly teams).

In general, unless you're an alum, you don't even notice Philly college basketball much. As I said, similar to Chicago that way.

Duke is same way in North Carolina.  UNC and NC STATE dominate fandom and it isn't close.

[GGGG]

I live in Philly and can confirm this.  Temple is definitely Philly's university (though, strictly speaking, it's only quasi-public).  It has its flags (with the "Temple T") all over the city, in part because it has different schools located in all parts of the city.  When their football team was really good a few years ago, the whole city was buzzing (though Penn State still dominates the college football market).

Villanova, on the other hand, is much smaller, and is technically not located in Philadelphia city/county.  It's on the "Main Line" which is seen as an uppity, Naperville-esque suburb.  Some people jokingly refer to Villanova as "Vanillanova."

Only half of St. Joe's campus is in Philly city/county proper.  LaSalle is tiny.  Penn's student body comes from all over the world.  And people often forget that Drexel exists (it used to be an engineering-focused school a la Purdue and GTech, but has very recently tried to expand/emphasize its other programs, e.g., it just opened a law school a few years ago).

Ah I've never understood what "Main Line" meant until you described it here.  Thanks.

[MU82]

Duke is same way in North Carolina.  UNC and NC STATE dominate fandom and it isn't close.

I live in Charlotte.

There definitely are more UNC fans here. Based on 7 years of personal observations, I'd say that there are at least as many Duke fans here as NC State fans. Duke t-shirts, sweats, shorts, hats, etc, are everywhere ... though not as prevalent as UNC.

More fans of all the above than UNC-Charlotte, a program that has been covered in weeds and left for dead.

I can't speak for elsewhere in NC because I haven't lived elsewhere in NC. Have you?

[vogue65]

I think the Main Line is the commuter train line to whitelandia.

[Eldon]

I think the Main Line is the commuter train line to whitelandia.

I think you might be correct.  To my knowledge, "Main Line" is an unofficial moniker for those all of the little townships/burbs near the regional rail line that goes out that way.

[Hards Alumni]

That $2.7 million backslide represents Scoop's revenue losses when Chicos and Ners were both banned.  Expect a rebound in 2018.

Chicos is still here.