List of most valuable college athletic programs has some familiar names

The college football season will end on January 20th, when the Ohio State Buckeyes meet the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the national championship.

This season was the first season that the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams. The obvious reason that happened is due to the financial gain from adding more teams.

Money is the root cause of anything that a sports league does; the NCAA is no different. Some of the top programs in the league are also cashing in on college sports popularity.

The Ohio State Buckeyes had $280 million in revenue in 2023, the most of any school.⁠

These top programs rely on their large alumni/fan bases, booster donations, and massive attendance turnouts, per @CNBC. pic.twitter.com/X7YqvbHFCZ
— Boardroom (@boardroom) January 12, 2025

According to CNBC, here are the most valuable programs in college sports:

1. Ohio State - $1.32 billion
2. Texas - $1.28 billion
3. Texas A&M - $1.26 billion
4. Michigan - $1.06 billion
5. Alabama - $978 million

It should be no surprise to see the names of Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M, Michigan, or Alabama at the top of this list.

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

All of these teams have one thing in common, and that's that they are all college football powerhouses. Well, almost all. Texas A&M still believes it is one of the big dogs.

No matter where anyone sees themselves on the totem pole of college football, one thing is for certain: the cash is flowing like a chocolate fountain at a Golden Corral.

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