Schools That Make the Most Money Off College Basketball

College basketball is big business. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
And it’s not just the players who are raking in the dough with massive NIL Deals during March Madness and beyond. It’s the schools that are also seeing dollar signs from their athletic investments-millions of dollar signs for lots of them.
While it might not be the NBA, major Division I college basketball programs have pulled in huge revenues over the last few years-not just with men’s basketball, but women’s basketball as well-with the numbers getting bigger every season.
Here is a list of the 32 colleges that have amassed more than $18 million in revenue with basketball programs for both men and women’s programs.
32. Florida State University
- Revenue: $18,227,195
- Men’s basketball: $16,987,326
- Women’s basketball: $1,239,869
31. The University of Minnesota
- Revenue: $18,310,456
- Women’s basketball: $643,259
- Men’s basketball: $17,667,197
30. The University of Tennessee
- Revenue: $18,476,072
- Men’s basketball: $16,069,180
- Women’s basketball: $2,406,892
29. The University of Dayton
- Revenue: $18,497,393
- Men’s basketball: $16,878,904
- Women’s basketball: $1,618,489
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28. The University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA)
- Revenue: $18,526,663
- Men’s basketball: $12,891,320
- Women’s basketball: $5,635,343
27. The University of Nebraska – Lincoln
- Revenue: $18,698,599
- Men’s basketball: $16,849,124
- Women’s basketball: $1,858,475
26. Xavier University
- Revenue: $18,812,108
- Men’s basketball: $16,067,816
- Women’s basketball: $2,744,292
25. Stanford University
- Revenue: $19,419,358
- Men’s basketball: $11,369,560
- Women’s basketball: $8,049,798
24. Baylor University
- Revenue: $19,644,821
- Men’s basketball: $13,308,914
- Women’s basketball: $6,335,907
23. Texas Christian University
- Revenue: $19,775,379
- Men’s basketball: $12,670,472
- Women’s basketball: $7,104,907
22. The University of Alabama
- Revenue: $20,064,670
- Men’s basketball: $19,047,972
- Women’s basketball: $1,016,698
21. The University of Virginia
- Revenue: $20,441,635
- Men’s basketball: $14,598,575
- Women’s basketball: $5,843,060
20. Gonzaga University
- Revenue: $21,218,754
- Men’s basketball: $17,060,871
- Women’s basketball: $4,157,883
19. Vanderbilt University
- Revenue: $21,578,177
- Men’s basketball: $13,587,388
- Women’s basketball: $7,990,789
18. The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
- Revenue: $21,755,023
- Men’s basketball: $21,141,253
- Women’s basketball: $613,770
17. The University of South Carolina
- Revenue: $22,141,925
- Men’s basketball: $12,604,227
- Women’s basketball: $9,537,698
16. Villanova University
- Revenue: $24,005,010
- Men’s basketball: $20,513,366
- Women’s basketball: $3,491,644
15. Ohio State University
- Revenue: $24,268,826
- Men’s basketball: $23,575,794
- Women’s basketball: $693,032
14. The University of Arkansas
- Revenue: $24,495,637
- Men’s basketball: $24,094,372
- Women’s basketball: $401,265
13. The University of Arizona
- Revenue: $25,054,541
- Men’s basketball: $23,287,417
- Women’s basketball: $1,767,124
12. Purdue University
- Revenue: $25,919,482
- Men’s basketball: $18,911,360
- Women’s basketball: $7,008,122
11. The University of Texas — Austin
- Revenue: $26,180,959
- Men’s basketball: $23,637,212
- Women’s basketball: $2,543,747
10. The University of Illinois
- Revenue: $26,490,527
- Men’s basketball: $25,658,000
- Women’s basketball: $832,527
9. Michigan State University
- Revenue: $27,134,559
- Men’s basketball: $26,270,974
- Women’s basketball: $863,585
8. The University of Kentucky
- Revenue: $27,252,990
- Men’s basketball: $22,667,255
- Women’s basketball: $4,585,735
7. Marquette University
- Revenue: $27,751,972
- Men’s basketball: $23,422,126
- Women’s basketball: $4,329,846
6. The University of Louisville
- Revenue: $28,768,232
- Men’s basketball: $21,853,488
- Women’s basketball: $6,914,744
5. Indiana University – Bloomington
- Revenue: $31,192,515
- Men’s basketball: $25,955,324
- Women’s basketball: $5,237,191
4. The University of Connecticut
- Revenue: $32,574,770
- Men’s basketball: $24,055,088
- Women’s basketball: $8,519,682
3. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Revenue: $33,193,398
- Men’s basketball: $31,965,031
- Women’s basketball: $1,228,367
2. Syracuse University
- Revenue: $35,765,493
- Men’s basketball: $34,157,191
- Women’s basketball: $1,608,302
1. Duke University
- Revenue: $47,751,792
- Men’s basketball: $45,108,538
- Women’s basketball: $2,643,254
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George Malone contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates used the United States Department of Education’s “Equity in Athletics Data Analysis” (EADA) dataset to find (1) total basketball revenues; (2) men’s basketball revenues; and (3) women’s basketball revenues for all NCAA Division I schools all in FY 20-2` data (the most recent available). Only the top 50 schools in terms of factor (1) were included in the final list. All data was collected on and up to date as of March 15, 2023.
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