The Holy Land of Hoops

Forbes has named the top 20 most profitable college basketball programs in America. Three of those 20 programs are coached by present or former Xavier coaches. The Muskies are the 17th most profitable program in the nation. We are the only BE program in the top 20. The other 19 are all from the Power 5 conferences, mostly from the B10 and ACC.

The list is below:

1. Louisville Cardinals
Current Value: $36.1 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 39%
Basketball Profit: $23.2 million
Conference: Big East
Head Coach: Rick Pitino

2. North Carolina Tar Heels
Current Value: $29.6 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 2%
Basketball Profit: $17.9 million
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Roy Williams

3. Kansas Jayhawks
Current Value: $28.2 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 18%
Basketball Profit: $17.7 million
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Bill Self

4. Duke Blue Devils
Current Value: $25 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 52%
Basketball Profit: $15.1 million
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski

5. Kentucky Wildcats
Current Value: $24.4 million
Two-Year Change in Value: -7%
Basketball Profit: $15.4 million
Conference: SEC
Head Coach: John Calipari

6. Indiana Hoosiers
Current Value: $23.2 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 13%
Basketball Profit: $15.6 million
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Tom Crean

7. Ohio State Buckeyes
Current Value: $21.9 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 20%
Basketball Profit: $13.8 million
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Thad Matta

8. Arizona Wildcats
Current Value: $18.3 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 10%
Basketball Profit: $11.3 million
Conference: Pac-12
Head Coach: Sean Miller

9. Syracuse Orange
Current Value: $17.7 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 4%
Basketball Profit: $11.5 million
Conference: Big East
Head Coach: Jim Boeheim

10. Wisconsin Badgers
Current Value: $17.2 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 5%
Basketball Profit: $10 million
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Bo Ryan

11. UCLA Bruins
Current Value: $16.4 million
Two-Year Change in Value: -2.4%
Basketball Profit: $8.9 million
Conference: Pac-12
Head Coach: Ben Howland

12. Maryland Terrapins
Current Value: $16.1 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 4%
Basketball Profit: $10.6 million
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon

13. Illinois Fighting Illini
Current Value: $15.8 million
Two-Year Change in Value: -24%
Basketball Profit: $9.8 million
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Bruce Weber

14. Texas Longhorns
Current Value: $14.6 million
Two-Year Change in Value: N/A*
Basketball Profit: $8.2 million
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Rick Barnes

15. Michigan State Spartans
Current Value: $14.4 million
Two-Year Change in Value: 10%
Basketball Profit: $7.2 million
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Tom Izzo

16. Minnsota $9.6 million

17. Xavier Musketeers
Current Value: $12.9 million
Two-Year Change in Value: -10%
Basketball Profit: $7.3 million
Conference: A-10
Head Coach: Chris Mack

18. Tennessee $6.9 million

19. Pittsburgh $6.4 million

20. Purdue $6.4 million

Indiana at #6 is a real surprise. Until last year they have had several bad years in a row.
This indicates the so called P 5 conferences are all ready in a position to leave the NCAA tournament should they wish. With this profitability and the conference income already shown in my previous conference topic post (Top 8 Conferences in Income 2014) a Power 5 basketball tourney would be an immense financial success. Hopefully that will not happen however the way they are acting with their autonomy and increased spending proposals I think they are after as much money as they can get.

NOTE: THE ABOVE LIST IS FROM 2012 THE 2014 LIST CAN BE FOUND AT - http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emdm45ehefd/
XAVIER IS THE 17TH MOST PROFITABLE PROGRAM ON BOTH LISTS.

This list is a few years old

xavierfano8 wrote:This list is a few years old

Xavier is listed 17th in the 2014 ranking. I'm not sure if this is the current one or not, as we also we're ranked 17th in 2013 list.

At least they have us in the Big East now!

Xudash wrote:

xavierfano8 wrote:This list is a few years old

Xavier is listed 17th in the 2014 ranking. I'm not sure if this is the current one or not, as we also we're ranked 17th in 2013 list.

True. I just noticed Bruce Weber was listed as Illinois coach and he's been gone for a couple years.