By
Carolyn Tribble Greer – Digital editor, Louisville Business First
3 hours ago
The University of Louisville has the most valuable basketball team in the country, according to a new report from Forbes.
The Cardinals had average revenue of $52 million from the 2014-15 season through 2016-17,
according to the report, and profits of $30 million.
The University of Kentucky wasn't far behind, with three-year average revenue of $49.4 million and profits of $22.9 million.
Indiana University was No. 3, with $35.5 million in revenue and $21 million in profit. Rounding out the top five were Duke University and the University of Kansas.
The report notes that, despite a series of scandals and poor showing last year, U of L's basketball team had profit of $23 million last year — more than the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets.
Forbes says U of L's athletic department receives more than $30 million a year in contributions from boosters. That ranks it alongside some of the biggest athletic departments in the nation — Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State, for three — all of which have powerhouse football teams.
UK spends more than any other public school — $15 million — on recruiting, coaching salaries, support staff, team travel or basketball equipment, according to the report.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriss...luable-college-basketball-teams/#13b724b32252
Meanwhile, the Louisville Cardinals have made the NCAA Tournament just once in the past three seasons—a second-round exit in 2017—and have been mired in the fallout from a prostitution scandal and FBI investigation. But they rank No. 1 on our list, and no college basketball team makes more money. Louisville turned $23 million in profit last year, making it
more profitable than the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets.
From the 2014-15 season through the 2016-17 one, Louisville basketball averaged annual revenues of $52 million and profits of $30 million; across those three seasons, just four other college teams had more than $30 million in average
revenue. The Cardinals play at the state-of-the-art KFC Yum! Center, the
third-biggest arena in college basketball. Between that home arena and the nation’s second-most-valuable apparel deal (
$11 million annually from Adidas), Louisville leads the field in revenue from royalties and sponsorships. Last season the team
ranked third in total home game attendance despite a mediocre on-court performance; ticket sales totaled $14 million.
