Major college sports collectively generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and private investors want a piece of the pie.
But how much are college sports worth?
CNBC set out to answer that question after speaking with people in the private equity community looking to invest in college sports.
Below, CNBC ranks the 75 most valuable college sports. The rankings do not include military academies and are limited to schools that compete in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which tend to attract top players.
Ohio State University is the most valuable sports program, worth an estimated $1.27 billion. In 2023, the Buckeyes had $280 million in revenue, the most of any school. Other factors that help the Buckeyes rise to the top of the rankings are an alumni base of more than 100 students. 600,000With more than 11 million fans, supporters who donated nearly $60 million last year, and a regularly sponsored football team Attendance Its tournament attendance exceeds 100,000 people.
Not surprisingly, the No. 1 rankings are the SEC and Big Ten schools, largely due to the massive media rights deals each conference has.
The SEC has a total value of $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; and the ACC at $9.6 billion, or $562 million per school dollars; and the Big 12’s $6.7 billion, or $420 million per school.
Information used to prepare the estimate was provided by Jason Belzer, author of Athletic DirectorUHe has advised universities on name, image and likeness transactions and now does the same for athletic departments seeking private equity. AthleticDirectorU has an extensive database of college athletic program finance and information.
Income data comes from the Ministry of Education Fairness in Track and Field Data Analysis and Knight Intercollegiate Athletic Committee FY2023. Factors that drive future revenue growth and profitability.
CNBC and Belzer also combined the expertise of several people with knowledge of sports project valuations to determine the rankings, who requested anonymity to discuss the details of the projects.
College Sports Valuations in 2024
| rank | program | Valuation | income | Meeting | City | ownership |
| 1. | Ohio State University | $1.32B | $280 million | top ten | columbus ohio | people |
| 2. | University of Texas at Austin | $1.28B | $271 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Austin, Texas | people |
| 3. | Texas A&M University | $1.26B | $279 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | college station texas | people |
| 4. | University of Michigan | $1.06B | $230 million | top ten | Ann Arbor, MI | people |
| 5. | University of Alabama | $978 million | US$200 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | people |
| 6. | University of Notre Dame | $969 million | $224 million | ACC | Notre Dame, Indiana | private |
| 7. | University of Georgia | $950 million | $210 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Athens, Georgia | people |
| 8. | University of Nebraska | $943 million | $205 million | top ten | Lincoln, Nebraska | people |
| 9. | University of Tennessee | $940 million | $202 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Knoxville, Tennessee | people |
| 10. | University of Oklahoma | $928 million | $199 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Norman, okay | people |
| 11. | penn state university | $924 million | $202 million | top ten | university park, pennsylvania | people |
| 12. | University of Southern California | $923 million | $212 million | top ten | Los Angeles, California | private |
| 13. | Louisiana State University | $916 million | US$200 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | people |
| 14. | University of Florida | $865 million | $189 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | gainesville florida | people |
| 15. | University of Wisconsin | $838 million | $198 million | top ten | Madison, Wisconsin | people |
| 16. | Clemson University | US$800 million | $196 million | ACC | Clemson, South Carolina | people |
| 17. | University of Oregon | $780 million | $151 million | top ten | Eugene, Oregon | people |
| 18. | University of Arkansas | $776 million | $167 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Fayetteville, Arkansas | people |
| 19. | University of Kentucky | $775 million | $174 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Lexington, Kentucky | people |
| 20. | Auburn University | $772 million | $195 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Auburn, Alabama | people |
| twenty one. | University of Iowa | $747 million | $167 million | top ten | Iowa City, Iowa | people |
| twenty two. | michigan state university | $740 million | $171 million | top ten | East Lansing, MI | people |
| twenty three. | Stanford University | $687 million | $180 million | ACC | Stanford, California | private |
| twenty four. | Florida State University | $673 million | $170 million | ACC | Tallahassee, Florida | people |
| 25. | University of Illinois | $665 million | $148 million | top ten | Champaign, Illinois | people |
| 26. | Duke University | $659 million | $153 million | ACC | Durham, North Carolina | private |
| 27. | University of Washington | $658 million | $152 million | top ten | Seattle, Washington | people |
| 28. | Indiana University | $653 million | $145 million | top ten | Indianapolis, Indiana | people |
| 29. | University of Mississippi | $651 million | $142 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Oxford, MS | people |
| 30. | University of South Carolina | $650 million | $160 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Columbia, South Carolina | people |
| 31. | University of Miami | $639 million | $160 million | ACC | Coral Gables, Florida | private |
| 32. | University of Minnesota | $637 million | $149 million | top ten | Minneapolis, Minnesota | people |
| 33. | Texas Tech University | $619 million | $147 million | Big 12 | Lubbock, Texas | people |
| 34. | University of Louisville | $595 million | $143 million | ACC | Louisville, Kentucky | people |
| 35. | University of Missouri | $590 million | $142 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Columbia, Missouri | people |
| 36. | North Carolina State University | $581 million | $121 million | ACC | Raleigh, North Carolina | people |
| 37. | Purdue University | $567 million | $124 million | top ten | West Lafayette, Indiana | people |
| 38. | University of Kansas | $553 million | $128 million | Big 12 | Lawrence, Kansas | people |
| 39. | Vanderbilt University | $551 million | $125 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Nashville, Tennessee | private |
| 40. | Texas Christian University | $542 million | $149 million | Big 12 | Fort Worth, Texas | private |
| 41. | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | $539 million | $139 million | ACC | chapel hill north carolina | people |
| 42. | University of Arizona | $532 million | $143 million | Big 12 | Tucson, Arizona | people |
| 43. | University of Pittsburgh | $524 million | $137 million | ACC | pittsburgh pennsylvania | people |
| 44. | Mississippi State University | $523 million | $116 million | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Starkville, Mississippi | people |
| 45. | Baylor University | $513 million | $137 million | Big 12 | Waco, Texas | private |
| 46. | University of Virginia | $506 million | $141 million | ACC | Charlottesville, Virginia | people |
| 47. | Oklahoma State University | US$500 million | $122 million | Big 12 | Stillwater, OK. | people |
| 48. | Georgia Institute of Technology | $498 million | $134 million | ACC | Atlanta, Georgia | people |
| 49. | Iowa State University | $492 million | $116 million | Big 12 | Ames, Iowa | people |
| 50. | Syracuse University | $487 million | $114 million | ACC | Syracuse, New York | private |
| 51. | northwestern university | $486 million | $118 million | top ten | Evanston, Illinois | private |
| 52. | University of Maryland | $477 million | $121 million | top ten | College Park, MD | people |
| 53. | Virginia Tech University | $474 million | $130 million | ACC | Blacksburg, Virginia | people |
| 54. | UCLA | $472 million | $105 million | top ten | Los Angeles, California | people |
| 55. | University of Colorado | $470 million | $127 million | Big 12 | Boulder, Colorado | people |
| 56. | University of Utah | $468 million | $126 million | Big 12 | salt lake city utah | people |
| 57. | kansas state university | $444 million | $102 million | Big 12 | Manhattan, Kansas | people |
| 58. | boston college | $443 million | $118 million | ACC | Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | private |
| 59. | Rutgers University | $417 million | $125 million | top ten | New Brunswick, New Jersey | people |
| 60. | west virginia university | $403 million | $106 million | Big 12 | Morgantown, West Virginia | people |
| 61. | Washington State University | $392 million | $79 million | Pac-12 | Pullman, Washington | people |
| 62. | University of California, Berkeley | $386 million | $126 million | ACC | Berkeley, California | people |
| 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 | people |
| 65. | Southern Methodist University | $327 million | $86 million | ACC | Dallas, Texas | private |
| 66. | Oregon State University | $326 million | $92 million | Pac-12 | Corvallis, Oregon | people |
| 67. | San Diego State University | $287 million | $104 million | action world congress | San Diego, California | people |
| 68. | Arizona State University | $279 million | $115 million | Big 12 | Tempe, Arizona | people |
| 69. | University of Cincinnati | $216 million | $87 million | Big 12 | Cincinnati, Ohio | people |
| 70. | University of Central Florida | $181 million | $85 million | Big 12 | Orlando, Florida | people |
| 71. | University of Connecticut | $178 million | $93 million | Great Eastern | Storrs, Connecticut | people |
| 72. | boise state university | $176 million | $61 million | action world congress | boise idaho | people |
| 73. | east carolina university | $153 million | $63 million | Acrylic | Greenville, North Carolina | people |
| 74. | University of South Florida | $150 million | $71 million | Acrylic | Tampa, Florida | people |
| 75. | University of Memphis | $148 million | $64 million | Acrylic | Memphis, Tennessee | people |
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