According to an analysis by Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus professor Ryan Brewer and shared with the Wall Street Journal, the Arizona Wildcats are the ninth-most valuable college basketball team.
Their estimated worth?
$133,850,000.
That figure is up over $10 million from their 2016 valuation.
Sean Miller’s program saw an 8.5 percent increase, ranking 28 in the country.
While Arizona saw a 8.5 percent jump this year, they lost 47 percent last year. In 2015 they were valued at $235M but in 2016 it fell to $123M, which goes to show this valuation is more of an academic exercise than anything else.
The top 10 included the usual suspects: Kentucky, Indiana, Louisville, Kansas, Duke, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Ohio State, and Maryland.
Surprisingly, of those top 10 programs, only Kansas saw their value increase besides UA. Kentucky led the way with a 28 percent drop with Louisville right behind at 27 percent.
As for the teams out west, it’s scarce. UCLA finds itself at 13, Washington at 28, California at 44, and Gonzaga at 45.
Where was national championship winner, Villanova? Way down at 55, with a valuation of $43.1M.
Now did the FBI investigations have an impact overall in devaluations?
Brewer says yes.
“In particular for college basketball, the FBI investigation attacks the very heart of the industry,” Brewer told the WSJ. “The reason for the drop in the valuation is that new risk.”
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