With the NCAA basketball tournament around the corner, Forbes magazine is putting a price tag on the value of college basketball teams around the country.
The Minnesota Gophers are 13th in their latest ranking, worth an estimated $16.3 million. That’s less than the Ohio State (#5), Indiana (#6) and Wisconsin (#7) basketball teams are worth, but more than Illinois (#17).
The Louisville Cardinals are first on the Forbes list, worth $38 million.
According to Forbes, the ranking considered three components: Basketball revenue spent on athlete scholarships and other academic programming, profit kept by the athletic department to support athletic endeavors and conference revenue generated via NCAA tournament play.
Valuations are based on revenues and expenses from the 2011-12 season.
Forbes notes: “The Golden Gophers’ two tournament games over the last six seasons were worth less than $500,000 to the Big Ten last year.”
