Commentary

Bang for the Buck: College football

Originally Published: January 28, 2011

By Patrick Hruby | Page 2

ESPN.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-bowl Top 25 college football 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 season.

Note: Top 25 determined by BCS standings.

The top five

1. Boise State

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$6.85 million	13	$527,000

Fun fact: Boise State's $25.1 million total budget for all men's and women's sports is less what 2009 BCS champion Alabama spent on football alone ($31.2 million).

2. Cincinnati

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$11.6 million	12	$967,000

Fun fact: Bearcats football team turned a bigger profit ($1.73 million) than the school's traditionally strong basketball team ($1.17 million).

3. Brigham Young

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$10.31 million	10	$1.03 million

Fun fact: BYU's football budget was less than Kentucky's basketball budget ($11.57 million).

4. Utah

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$9.9 million	9	$1.1 million

Fun fact: Utes' budget is lower than all but one school (Washington State) in the Pac-10, the league Utah soon will be joining.

5. Georgia Tech

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$15.51 million	11	$1.41 million

Fun fact: Georgia Tech spent $1,256 on football per undergraduate student -- more than sports colossus Ohio State ($844).

The bottom five

25. Ohio State

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$31.76 million	10	$3.18 million

Fun fact: The Buckeyes' $32.85 million football profit was major reason the school's athletic department was slightly in the black despite $104.93 million in total expenses and a $17.81 million capital debt payment.

24. LSU

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$25.57 million	9	$2.84 million

Fun fact: LSU's $43.25 million football profit was bigger than Ohio State's and could have funded the top four teams on this list ... with $4.59 million to spare.

23. USC

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$20.82 million	8	$2.6 million

Fun fact: Glamour program turned a smaller football profit ($8.26 million) than Georgia Tech ($9.35 million). ¿Como?

22. Wisconsin

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$22.04 million	9	$2.45 million

Fun fact: Badgers turned $10 million-plus profits in both football and men's basketball.

21. Alabama

Expenses	Victories	Cost per win
$31.12 million	13	$2.39 million

Fun fact: Alabama took in a staggering $71.88 million in football revenue; the school's $40.76 million football profit was greater than the reported operating income of 24 NFL teams.

Rest of the Top 25

Rank	Program	Expenses	Victories	Cost/win	Comment
6.	Oregon St.	$11.98M	8	$1.5M	Just imagine what they'd accomplish with Phil Knight's money.
7.	Arizona	$13.69M	9	$1.52M	Isn't Arizona supposed to be a basketball school?
8.	W. Virginia	$14.33M	9	$1.6M	No Rich Rod, no problem!
9.	TCU	$20.61M	12	$1.718M	"Plucky" Horned Frogs spend nearly as much as USC.
10.	Okla. St.	$15.48M	9	$1.72M	We figured super-booster T. Boone Pickens would make this budget higher.
11.	Oregon	$18.07M	10	$1.807M	Just imagine what they'd accomplish with more of Phil Knight's money.
12.	Va. Tech	$16.31M	9	$1.81M	Over the past decade, has any school gotten more football bang for its buck?
13.	Iowa	$18.47M	10	$1.85M	Note: Rhabdomyolysis treatment costs extra.
14.	Texas	$25.11M	13	$1.93M	With megabucks ESPN network soon to launch, this number could go way up.
15.	Pittsburgh	$17.44M	9	$1.94M	Random comparison: NFL's Steelers paid $9.5M per regular-season win in 2010.
16.	Penn State	$19.78M	10	$1.978M	Possibly the only metric by which Pitt football outclasses Penn State.
17.	Nebraska	$17.84M	9	$1.982M	Nebraska spends less on football than Oregon and TCU? Really?
18.	Miami (Fla.)	$17.86M	9	$1.984M	But what does Uncle Luke think?
19.	Florida	$24.46M	12	$2.04M	Figure may not include cost of plaque/statue construction.
20.	Stanford	$17.24M	8	$2.15M	Figure may not include Jim Harbaugh's ultra-luxe office bathroom.

Other notables

Program	Expenses	Victories	Cost/win	Comment
Notre Dame	$29.49M	6	$4.92M	In Notre Dame's defense, program produced a $34.67 million profit.
Michigan	$18.33M	5	$3.67M	Cost per Big Ten win? $18.33 million?
Auburn	$27.91M	8	$3.49M	Give or take $180,000.
Duke	$14.31M	5	$2.86M	In all honesty, why bother?

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

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