Ohio State Buckeyes players stand on the field after a game against the Indiana Hoosiers and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Nov. 23, 2024, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
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With major college sports programs collectively generating billions in revenue each year, private investors are looking to get a piece of the action.
But how much is a college sports program worth?
It’s a question CNBC set out to answer after speaking with people in the private equity world who are seeking to invest in college sports.
Below, CNBC ranks the 75 most valuable college athletic programs. The rankings exclude military academies and are limited to schools that participate in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, or FBS, which tend to attract top players.
Ohio State University is the most valuable athletic program, worth an estimated $1.27 billion. The Buckeyes had $280 million in revenue in 2023, the most of any school. Other factors that helped propel the Buckeyes to the top of the rankings are an alumni base of over 600,000, a fan base of more than 11 million, boosters that donated nearly $60 million last year, and a football team that routinely has attendance of over 100,000 at its games.
It isn’t surprising that the top of the list is dominated by SEC and Big Ten schools — due largely to each conference’s massive media rights deals.
In aggregate, the SEC is worth $13.3 billion, an average of $832 million per school; followed by the Big Ten at $13.2 billion, an average of $734 million per school; the ACC at $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 valuations comes courtesy of Jason Belzer, publisher of AthleticDirectorU, who has advised universities on name, image and likeness deals and is now doing the same for athletic departments seeking private equity. AthleticDirectorU has an expansive database of college athletic program financials and information.
The revenue figures are from the Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics Data Analysis and the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for the fiscal year 2023. The list is reflective of the current enterprise value of each program, starting with a base revenue multiple of four for all institutions, and then adjusting the multiple for variables, including conference affiliation, estimated NIL spend, school subsidies, number of alumni and other factors that can catalyze future revenue growth and profitability.
CNBC and Belzer also incorporated the expertise of several people knowledgeable about athletic program valuations to determine the rankings, who requested anonymity in order to discuss details of the programs.
College Athletics Valuations 2024
Rank Program Valuation Revenue Conference City Ownership 1. Ohio State University $1.32B $280M Big Ten Columbus, OH public 2. University of Texas at Austin $1.28B $271M SEC Austin, TX public 3. Texas A&M University $1.26B $279M SEC College Station, TX public 4. University of Michigan $1.06B $230M Big Ten Ann Arbor, MI public 5. University of Alabama $978M $200M SEC Tuscaloosa, AL public 6. University of Notre Dame $969M $224M ACC Notre Dame, IN private 7. University of Georgia $950M $210M SEC Athens, GA public 8. University of Nebraska $943M $205M Big Ten Lincoln, NE public 9. University of Tennessee $940M $202M SEC Knoxville, TN public 10. University of Oklahoma $928M $199M SEC Norman, OK public 11. Penn State University $924M $202M Big Ten University Park, PA public 12. University of Southern California $923M $212M Big Ten Los Angeles, CA private 13. Louisiana State University $916M $200M SEC Baton Rouge, LA public 14. University of Florida $865M $189M SEC Gainesville, FL public 15. University of Wisconsin $838M $198M Big Ten Madison, WI public 16. Clemson University $800M $196M ACC Clemson, SC public 17. University of Oregon $780M $151M Big Ten Eugene, OR public 18. University of Arkansas $776M $167M SEC Fayetteville, AR public 19. University of Kentucky $775M $174M SEC Lexington, KY public 20. Auburn University $772M $195M SEC Auburn, AL public 21. University of Iowa $747M $167M Big Ten Iowa City, IA public 22. Michigan State University $740M $171M Big Ten East Lansing, MI public 23. Stanford University $687M $180M ACC Stanford, CA private 24. Florida State University $673M $170M ACC Tallahassee, FL public 25. University of Illinois $665M $148M Big Ten Champaign, IL public 26. Duke University $659M $153M ACC Durham, NC private 27. University of Washington $658M $152M Big Ten Seattle, WA public 28. Indiana University $653M $145M Big Ten Indianapolis, IN public 29. University of Mississippi $651M $142M SEC Oxford, MS public 30. University of South Carolina $650M $160M SEC Columbia, SC public 31. University of Miami $639M $160M ACC Coral Gables, FL private 32. University of Minnesota $637M $149M Big Ten Minneapolis, MN public 33. Texas Tech University $619M $147M Big 12 Lubbock, TX public 34. University of Louisville $595M $143M ACC Louisville, KY public 35. University of Missouri $590M $142M SEC Columbia, MO public 36. North Carolina State University $581M $121M ACC Raleigh, NC public 37. Purdue University $567M $124M Big Ten West Lafayette, IN public 38. University of Kansas $553M $128M Big 12 Lawrence, KS public 39. Vanderbilt University $551M $125M SEC Nashville, TN private 40. Texas Christian University $542M $149M Big 12 Fort Worth, TX private 41. UNC-Chapel Hill $539M $139M ACC Chapel Hill, NC public 42. University of Arizona $532M $143M Big 12 Tucson, AZ public 43. University of Pittsburgh $524M $137M ACC Pittsburgh, PA public 44. Mississippi State University $523M $116M SEC Starkville, MS public 45. Baylor University $513M $137M Big 12 Waco, TX private 46. University of Virginia $506M $141M ACC Charlottesville, VA public 47. Oklahoma State University $500M $122M Big 12 Stillwater, OK public 48. Georgia Tech $498M $134M ACC Atlanta, GA public 49. Iowa State University $492M $116M Big 12 Ames, IA public 50. Syracuse University $487M $114M ACC Syracuse, NY private 51. Northwestern University $486M $118M Big Ten Evanston, IL private 52. University of Maryland $477M $121M Big Ten College Park, MD public 53. Virginia Tech $474M $130M ACC Blacksburg, VA public 54. University of California, Los Angeles $472M $105M Big Ten Los Angeles, CA public 55. University of Colorado $470M $127M Big 12 Boulder, CO public 56. University of Utah $468M $126M Big 12 Salt Lake City, UT public 57. Kansas State University $444M $102M Big 12 Manhattan, KS public 58. Boston College $443M $118M ACC Chestnut Hill, MA private 59. Rutgers University $417M $125M Big Ten New Brunswick, NJ public 60. West Virginia University $403M $106M Big 12 Morgantown, WV public 61. Washington State University $392M $79M Pac-12 Pullman, WA public 62. University of California, Berkeley $386M $126M ACC Berkeley, CA public 63. Wake Forest University $362M $97M ACC Winston-Salem, NC private 64. Brigham Young University $357M $106M Big 12 Provo, UT public 65. Southern Methodist University $327M $86M ACC Dallas, TX private 66. Oregon State University $326M $92M Pac-12 Corvallis, OR public 67. San Diego State University $287M $104M MWC San Diego, CA public 68. Arizona State University $279M $115M Big 12 Tempe, AZ public 69. University of Cincinnati $216M $87M Big 12 Cincinnati, OH public 70. University of Central Florida $181M $85M Big 12 Orlando, FL public 71. University of Connecticut $178M $93M Big East Storrs, CT public 72. Boise State University $176M $61M MWC Boise, ID public 73. East Carolina University $153M $63M AAC Greenville, NC public 74. University of South Florida $150M $71M AAC Tampa, FL public 75. University of Memphis $148M $64M AAC Memphis, TN publicWhat the top 75 college sports programs are worth Top World News Today.
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