In today’s world of college athletics, everything is controlled by money. From decisions being made on and off the field, it seems like all anyone cares about is the bottom line. Between paying the players, upgrading facilities, and travel, it now costs more than ever to run a college football program.
But how much are these college football programs worth? That is a million-dollar question. A couple of weeks ago, CNBC ranked the Top 75 athletic programs based on value. So, let’s see just where these Big 12 teams rank.
Big 12’s Athletic Programs Value
- #39 Kansas ($620M)
- #41 Oklahoma State ($600M)
- #42 Baylor ($585M)
- #46 Iowa State ($575M)
- #47 Colorado ($574M)
- #49 Texas Tech ($570M)
- #50 TCU ($568M)
- #55 Arizona ($529M)
- #57 BYU ($500M)
- #58 West Virginia ($481M)
- #60 Utah ($451M)
- #62 Kansas State ($435M)
- #63 Arizona State ($430M)
- #68 Cincinnati ($280M)
- #70 UCF ($262M)
- #73 Houston ($222M)
I am not surprised to see Kansas at the top of the list simply because of basketball. They are one of the few iconic brands in college basketball and that alone is worth plenty. However, I was a little shocked to see Oklahoma State ranked so highly. Then again, their programs have had stability across the board over the years outside of football the last two.
Baylor has plenty of money being a private school and so does TCU. But seeing Colorado up there must solely be ahead of these other schools due to the Deion Sanders factor alone, but I have a hard time seeing it being worth that much. However, Colorado is a rapidly-growing state, and as the anchor University, there is clearly a lot of value, and a growing brand, in Boulder. I would like to also point out that Iowa State is inside the Top 50, which is something I didn’t expect. But between their football and basketball programs, they are one of the more successful in the Big 12.
Texas Tech and BYU?
Now Texas Tech is intriguing at No. 49. We know how much money they have spent recently on athletics, and being in the state of Texas, I would expect them to be much higher on this list. They aren’t far off from Baylor, but they are miles apart from schools like Texas and Texas A&M who are both in the top five.
There’s not much separating the middle of the pack, but BYU doesn’t make sense to me at all. I figured with the national following they have would create a lot more valuable. Plus, they are arguably the most recognizable brand in the Big 12 with, of course, the LDS tie, that is worth an enormous amount not just in the nation, but worldwide. This might be the biggest shocker on the list.
The bottom three of Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston were expected, but the gap between Arizona State at 63 and these three schools is very big. Also, I thought Houston’s basketball program alone would have them a little higher up. However, it remains a reminder that unless it’s a blue blood (Kansas), the basketball side of the equation is a much smaller percentage of the pie than football. And that isn’t changing any time soon.
