Commentary

Bang for the Buck, college basketball

Originally Published: January 28, 2011
By Patrick Hruby | Page 2

Bang for the BuckESPN.com Illustration

All this week, Page 2 looks at the athletic world the way financial analysts look at corporations. Which teams are maximizing their returns? Which clubs are woefully inefficient?

In short, who's getting the biggest -- and smallest -- bang for their bucks?

To answer the above, we're comparing teams by a simple, bottom-line metric: Player payroll dollars spent per regular-season victory. Using the most recent and accurate salary figures available, we're also examining which clubs have been penny-wise and which have been pound-foolish.


Page 2's "Bang for the Buck" payroll analysis series:

Monday: NFL  |  Tuesday: NBA  |  Wednesday: MLB
Thursday: NHL  |  Friday: College football  |  Friday: College basketball



Below, Page 2 concludes its series by looking at the final pre-NCAA tournament Top 25 men's college basketball teams. We used the most recent athletic department budget information provided by the Department of Education's online Equity in Athletics Data Analysis Cutting Tool to analyze the 2009-10 season.

Note: College basketball Top 25 determined by ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.


The top five


1. Northern Iowa

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$1.97 million
28
$70,000

Fun fact: Lost in NCAA Sweet 16 to Michigan State, which spent roughly $6 million more on its basketball budget.


2. New Mexico

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$2.51 million
29
$87,000

Fun fact: School reportedly expects current basketball revenue to offset athletic program debt due to football losses.


3. Temple

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$2.86 million
29
$99,000

Fun fact: Temple's basketball program did not turn a profit.


4. Butler

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$2.82 million
28
$101,000

Fun fact: School's athletic department spent $73,087 on recruiting men's athletes for all sports; NCAA title game opponent Duke spent $923,539 on the same.


5. Brigham Young

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$3.59 million
29
$124,000

Fun fact: Total basketball budget is less than reported salaries of Mike Krzyzewski and John Calipari.


The bottom five


25. Duke

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$12.23 million
29
$424,000

Fun fact: National champion spent more on basketball than 12 BCS conference schools spent on football.


24. Kentucky

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$11.57 million
32
$362,000

Fun fact: Wildcats spent $660 on basketball per every undergraduate student -- far less than Duke ($1,192).


23. Michigan State

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$8.25 million
24
$344,000

Fun fact: Though Tom Izzo is school's highest-paid coach, football team's profit ($26.99 million) dwarfed that of basketball team ($7.89 million).


22. Kansas

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$10.98 million
32
$343,000

Fun fact: Coach Bill Self reportedly earned almost $3.4 million.


21. Wisconsin

Expenses
Victories
Cost per win
$7.54 million
23
$328,000

Fun fact: Game-day operating costs ($1.23 million) were significantly less than those of Big Ten rival Michigan State ($2.03 million).


Rest of the Top 25


Rank Program Expenses Victories Cost/win Comment

6.
Texas-El Paso
$3.41M
26
$131K
 Hoops budget more than half of school's football budget.

7.
Ohio State
$4.55M
27
$169K
 Hoops budget less than one-fifth of school's football budget.

8.
Purdue
$5.17M
27
$192K
 Coach Matt Painter earns $1.2M; school president France Cordova earns a base salary of $450K.

9.
Kansas St.
$5.12M
26
$197K
 School spends approximately half as much on hoops as rival Kansas.

10.
Maryland
$5.16M
23
$224K
 School spends less than half as much on hoops as self-styled rival Duke.

11.
Baylor
$5.83M
25
$233K
 Total athletic department men's recruiting expense of $686,217 seems ... kinda low.

12.
Gonzaga
$6.25M
27
$231K
 Mid-major Zags outspent ACC power Maryland.

13.
W. Virginia
$6.38M
27
$236K
 Huggy Bear gets results!

14.
Pittsburgh
$6.05M
24
$252K
 School's football, basketball rank almost the same.

15.
Villanova
$6.12M
24
$255K
 Still beating Georgetown after all these years.

16.
Texas A&M
$5.96M
23
$259.1K
 Texas A&M spends more on basketball than Maryland and Gonzaga? Really?

17.
Tennessee
$6.48M
25
$259.2K
 Isn't Tennessee supposed to be a football school?

18.
Vanderbilt
$6.93M
24
$288.8K
 Vanderbilt outspends Texas A&M? Really?

19.
Syracuse
$8.09M
28
$288.9K
 Hey, 2-3 zone instructional DVDs aren't cheap.

20.
Georgetown
$7.39M
23
$321K
 Finally beating the Ivy League at something.

Other notables


Program Expenses Victories Cost/win Comment

North Carolina   
$6.65M   
16   
$415K   
Basketball team profit ($13.9M) nearly equals football team expenses ($14.79M).

UCLA   
$6.23   
14   
$448K   
A high-cost, low-return public institution in California? Get out!

Saint Mary's   
$2.13M   
26   
$82K   
Made NCAA tourney in far more efficient fashion than conference rival Gonzaga.

Cornell   
$967K   
27   
$36K   
The ultimate college hoops bang for the buck.

Patrick Hruby is a freelance writer and ESPN.com contributor. Contact him at PatrickHruby.net.


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Patrick Hruby | email

Page 2 columnist
Patrick Hruby is an award-winning freelance writer and frequent contributor to ESPN.com. A graduate of Georgetown and Northwestern universities, he lives in Washington, D.C. where he previously worked for The Washington Times. His work has twice been featured in The Best American Sports Writing anthology. Contact him at PatrickHruby.net.

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