scorecard
  1. Home
  2. sports
  3. news
  4. Duke's men, Baylor's women are the biggest money-makers in March Madness

Duke's men, Baylor's women are the biggest money-makers in March Madness

Cork Gaines   

Duke's men, Baylor's women are the biggest money-makers in March Madness
Sports2 min read
  • When it comes to the size of college basketball bank accounts, the differences can be jarring.
  • No school in the NCAA men's or women's tournaments makes more money than Duke.

All of the teams in the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments may be shooting for the same 10-foot baskets, but when it comes to the size of their bank accounts, some schools are simply in different leagues.

It is no secret that big-time college sports is a big-money business, and no school in this year's NCAA basketball tournaments makes more money off its team than Duke makes off its men's squad.

In the most recent data provided by the US Department of Education (2020), the Duke University men's basketball team made $33.4 million in revenue. That number actually trailed the University of Louisville, which earned $40.7 million, but the Cardinals did not make the field of 68 this season.

Duke's total is $32.0 million more than the lowest team on the men's side, Yale, which reported $1.4 million in revenue. The average team on the men's side made $9.6 million in revenue.

Here are the 10 biggest money-makers in this year's NCAA men's Tournament:

  1. Duke — $33.4 million
  2. Kentucky — $29.3 million
  3. North Carolina — $26.2 million
  4. Indiana — $25.1 million
  5. Ohio State — $22.0 million
  6. Illinois — $21.5 million
  7. Michigan State — $20.2 million
  8. Marquette — $19.7 million
  9. Wisconsin — $19.5 million
  10. Arkansas — $18.7 million

Gonzaga, the No. 1 overall team in the tournament, ranked 18th in revenue at $14.2 million.

The money looks a lot different on the women's side. While women's basketball is often the third-highest revenue generator for athletic departments, behind football and men's basketball, they still trail both by a considerable margin.

Baylor, which has won two national championships in the last 10 years, tops the list of biggest money-makers in women's hoops at $8.3 million. That would rank just 34th in the men's tournament. South Carolina, the No. 1 team in the tournament, is eighth in the women's bracket, reporting $3.1 million in revenue in 2020.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Kansas Jayhawks reported just $68,000 in revenue for their women's team. In the women's tournament, the average school made $1.7 million, just slightly more than the lowest team on the men's side.

Here are the 10 biggest money-makers in this year's NCAA Women's Tournament:

  1. Baylor — $8.3 million
  2. UConn — $7.3 million
  3. Florida State — $6.0 million
  4. Miami — $5.7 million
  5. Gonzaga — $4.7 million
  6. DePaul — $3.2 million
  7. Tennessee — $3.2 million
  8. South Carolina — $3.1 million
  9. Villanova — $2.9 million
  10. South Florida — $2.8 million

READ MORE ARTICLES ON




Advertisement