The LSU Tigers are ranked as the nation’s fifth most-valuable college football team in a new analysis by a professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Tigers are worth roughly $911 million, according to the analysis, which broke down each college program’s 2016 revenues and expenses, making cash-flow adjustments, risk assessments and growth projections.
At approximately $1.5 billion, Ohio State is ranked as the most-valuable team, followed by Texas ($1.2 billion), Oklahoma ($1 billion) and Alabama ($930 million).
Across the sport, the value of Football Bowl Subdivision teams spiked by 26% over the 2015 numbers, the product of cash flows that rose 24% and revenues that grew by 19%. The SEC has the highest average team value, at $523 million, followed by the Big Ten ($416 million) and Big 12 ($376 million).
Brewer notes that while the NFL has faced ratings declines in the last year, the same hasn’t been true in the college game. “It’s been tremendous,” he says. “So far this season, we can confirm that college football is still strongly attended and strongly viewed.”
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