Even in NCAA Basketball Tournament, Football Schools Take Home the Most Money
"Just because the NCAA Basketball Tournament takes one team from every conference doesn't necessarily mean everyone ends up on equal footing financially. Would you be surprised to learn that the same six conferences that walk away from the football season with the lion's share of the money also take home the majority of March Madness money?
It's true.
Last year, $188.3 million was distributed by the NCAA based on performance in the basketball tournament. Distributions are based on units earned the previous five tournaments, with teams earning one unit for their conference for each game they play in the tournament, with the exception of the title game, which awards no units. Last year, each unit was worth $245,514.
The six conferences who automatically had a team in BCS bowl games – the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC – took home 62.5% of the revenue the NCAA distributed last year based on basketball tournament performance. That left just $70.7 million to be split between the remaining 25 Division I conferences.
The largest distribution last year to a conference outside of those six was to the Atlantic 10, which received $8.1 million. Meanwhile, the smallest amount received by one of the six football conferences with an automatic BCS bid in football was the Pac-12 at $14.5 million. The Big East banked the largest share at $28.7 million.
This isn't simply a one-year fluke either. For 2011-2012, 72% of the distributions went to the six big football conferences. For both 2010-2011 and 2009-2010, 62% of the money went to those conferences."
"A team from outside the six big football conferences hasn't won the title since UNLV did it in 1990. In fact, since UNLV's win in 1990, only four teams in championship games have hailed from conferences outside of the automatic-qualifying football conferences: Butler in 2010 and 2011, Memphis in 2008, and Utah in 1998.
The big-money programs are benefiting in more ways than one. As it turns out, they're more likely to make it into the tournament to begin with. Last year, eight of the 10 top-earning basketball programs made it to the Big Dance. This year, it's nine of the top 10, with only Indiana missing. Spanning out, the percentage of top spends starts to dip; 13 of the top 20 are in the tournament. However, two of the No. 1 seeds are in the Top 20: Arizona (4) and Florida (20)."
| Institution | Men's Basketball Revenue (2012-2013) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Louisville | $42,398,758 |
| 2 | Syracuse University | $26,039,030 |
| 3 | Duke University | $25,735,093 |
| 4 | University of Arizona | $24,937,572 |
| 5 | University of Kentucky | $23,201,795 |
| 6 | Indiana University-Bloomington | $21,331,411 |
| 7 | University of North Carolina | $19,632,779 |
| 8 | University of Wisconsin | $19,225,982 |
| 9 | Ohio State University | $18,781,682 |
| 10 | Michigan State University | $18,502,472 |
| 11 | University of Illinois | $18,462,316 |
| 12 | North Carolina State University | $18,402,969 |
| 13 | The University of Texas | $16,896,653 |
| 14 | University of Kansas | $16,412,415 |
| 15 | Marquette University | $16,045,019 |
| 16 | University of Arkansas | $15,526,311 |
| 17 | University of Michigan | $14,799,440 |
| 18 | University of Maryland | $14,223,192 |
| 19 | University of Minnesota | $14,067,619 |
| 20 | University of Florida | $13,393,910 |
College Basketball's Most Valuable Teams 2014: Louisville Cardinals On Top Again
"The Louisville Cardinals have made two consecutive Final Fours, and a No. 4 seed this year means a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament’s semi-final round may be in the cards. It would be a fitting outcome because this year also marks the third straight year that Louisville reigns supreme off the court: Now worth $39.5 million, the Cardinals are once again college basketball’s most valuable team.
Louisville has been among college basketball’s three most valuable teams ever since we started ranking the teams in 2008, but that financial success turned to dominance when Louisville began playing home games in the KFC Yum! Center. The new waterfront arena, which opened in 2010, has the third-highest capacity among college basketball arenas. We didn’t rank the most valuable college teams in 2011, the first year that the KFC Yum! Center’s impact would have been recorded, but by 2012 the Cardinals were worth $36.1 million, up nearly 40% from two years earlier.
The new home court allows Louisville to host huge gameday crowds, and the team has ranked third in average home game attendance in every season since its opening (Kentucky and Syracuse have ranked first and second, respectively). Last year the Cardinals collected $12 million from ticket sales alone – Xavier, at No. 17 on our list, makes that much in total annual revenue. Alumni have also been pleased, as the school counts a massive $29 million in contributions, nearly 75% of which it attributes to the basketball team. Add on some $6 million in NCAA and conference distributions and another million in parking and concession sales, and you’ve got the sport’s best recipe for success."
"Instead, we use a weighted methodology to determine how much value the top college basketball teams generate for their athletic departments, universities and fellow conference members. Athletic value is team profit directed toward other sports programs, university value is team income that goes back toward academic programming and conference value measures the money generated for fellow conference members from NCAA Tournament play.
Financial details are from the 2012-13 season, the most recent year for which data is available. We utilize the Department of Education’s financial database and standardize revenue and expense streams to account for differences in accounting practices from school to school.
Full List
How Louisville Makes Twice as Much Money From Basketball as Rival Kentucky
"
It might shock you to learn that Louisville basketball banked nearly twice as much revenue as Kentucky basketball last season. With $42.4 million in revenue, Louisville basketball generated more net revenue than any other basketball program in the country, with Syracuse a distance second at $26 million. Kentucky ranked fifth at $23.2 million.
Why the big difference?
Some believe it's because Louisville is able to sell alcohol in its arena. Under the athletic department's concession contract, it receives 50% of sales, which amounted to just under half a million dollars in 2011, and that was for all concession items. So probably not the beer.
So, where is Louisville making its money?
The fans. Donations to Louisville basketball last year came in at a whopping $21.5 million. That's more than most programs made from all basketball-related revenue sources last year. In fact, only Syracuse, Duke, Arizona, and Kentucky had net revenue greater than $21.5 million last year.
Louisville plays home games in the KFC Yum! (NYSE: YUM ) Center, which features 72 luxury suites. Those suites are rented for a price ranging from $85,000 to $92,000 each. That's more than $6 million simply in rent, and only 12% goes to the arena. Tack onto that the price of tickets, the donation required to purchase the tickets, food and drinks, and the number starts skyrocketing quickly. Other seats in the arena command donations ranging from $250-$2,500, with the exception of seven student sections and four sections with no donation requirement.
How much does Kentucky make from suites? Zero. Rupp Arena doesn't have suites.
Kentucky isn't alone in missing out on this revenue. Duke, UNC, and Kansas also lack suites but would likely benefit greatly from their addition. All of the schools have discussed the addition of suites, but none have fully committed to any plans. Rupp Arena, where Kentucky plays, will undergo a renovation to be completed in 2017, but suites are still a point of discussion.
If you're wondering why Syracuse is still so far behind Louisville given the Carrier Dome does have suites, it's a simple function of supply and demand. The Carrier Dome has approximately 13,000 more seats than KFC Yum! Center, and accordingly was at just 64.08% capacity last year while Louisville averaged 97.65% of capacity (even though Syracuse averaged approximately 1,000 more fans per game). The Carrier Dome has 40 suites, but the lease fees ($50,000-$83,900) top out below the price of Louisville's cheapest suite. Donations for other seats in the arena max out at $725, less than a third of Louisville's $2,500 max."
"According to last year's Form 990 filed by the American Athletic Conference, Louisville received $11.6 million from the conference. Next season, Louisville will be in the ACC, which should average at least $17 million a year from its television contract with ESPN for each school. The additional $5.4 million in revenue would have moved Louisville up from 18th-highest revenue in college athletics last year to 14th behind schools like Texas, Alabama, and Ohio State ... and potentially further ahead of Kentucky, which came in 25th last year."
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