Louisville brought home the trophy -- and the bacon -- in 2013
Louisville was the No. 1 college basketball team in the nation on the court … and on the financial ledger … last season.
Forbes magazine released its list of “College Basketball’s Most Valuable Teams” this week. The Cardinals were the nation’s top financial team in 2012-13. Louisville’s program was valued at $39.5 million, $6.5 million ahead of No. 2 Kansas.
The top five included Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana. Only one Pac-12 team made the top 20. Arizona was No. 6 at $25.2 million. UCLA, No. 11 in 2013, tumbled out of the rankings this year.
Forbes said the three components, in order of weight were:
1. Value to the university (basketball profit used for academic purposes, including basketball scholarships).
2. Value to the athletic department (net profit generated by the basketball team that is kept by the athletic department).
3. Value to its conference (distribution of NCAA tournament payouts).
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