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The NCAA has 356 Division I college basketball programs. All of those programs and the other college athletics brought in a total of $1.12 billion in 2019 to the NCAA, via forbes.com. The March Madness tournament is responsible for almost 89 percent of that.
The NCAA pays back a percentage of their earnings to the conferences, where the conference will then distribute the funds to the college basketball programs. The top institutions will be rewarded with additional revenue. The amount each college basketball program earns is determined based on the team's overall performances and standings. Meaning that if a school is not constantly battling for a National Championship and bringing high profits from attendance and merchandise, they are bringing in very little money each year.
For example, in 2019, when the Virginia Cavaliers won the National Championship, they earned the ACC close to $9 million in revenue. Instead of reaping a large chunk of the reward, according to forbes.com, the Cavaliers received only 1.1 percent of the pot.
Here is a Facebook post from the ex-U.S. representative for Virginia's 8th congressional district, Jim Moran, on the absurdity of college basketball spending, via politifact.com,
Rankings of the most valuable college basketball programs
Many college basketball programs that were already struggling to bring in profits took an even greater loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, like many other American families and businesses, especially after having to cancel their most profitable tournament last year in March Madness. This created an even larger disparity between the top valuable college basketball programs.
Below you will find a break down of the top-20 most valuable college basketball programs and their three-year average profit (in millions). All profit earnings are from forbes.com. You may find it interesting that the last NCAA Tournament champion, Virginia, did not make the list.
1. Kentucky (SEC) - $56.0
2. Louisville (ACC) - $53.6
3. Indiana (Big Ten) - $37.5
4. Duke (ACC) - $35.4
5. Kansas (Big 12) - $34.1
6. Syracuse (ACC) - $31.9
7. Ohio State (Big Ten) - $30.1
8. North Carolina (ACC) - $29.9
9. Michigan State (Big Ten) - $28.5
10. Illinois (Big Ten) - $27.6
11. UCLA (Pac-12) - $26.3
12. Wisconsin (Big Ten) - $25.3
13. Arkansas (SEC) - $24.7
14. Michigan (Big Ten) - $24.1
15. Arizona (Pac-12) - $23.9
16. Maryland (Big Ten) - $22.5
17. Marquette (Big East) - $20.3
18. Minnesota (Big Ten) - $19.7
19. Alabama (SEC) - $19.3
20. Texas (Big 12) - $18.7
