Louisville Tops Forbes' List of Most Valuable College Basketball Teams

Who are the most valuable teams in college basketball in 2019?

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Louisville tops Forbes' list of the 2019 most valuable college basketball teams.

The Cardinals earned $52 million over a three-year average and raked in profits of $30 million, despite scandal and an FBI investigation clouding its past few seasons. Louisville has made the NCAA tournament once in the past three years and made a second-round exit in 2017. 

Only four other schools had average revenue of over $30 million. Kentucky came in second earning $49.4 million over the same period. Indiana is No. 3, raking in $35.5 million in revenue. Duke and Kansas round out the top five, earning $33.1 million and $32.2 million respectively. 

Other notable programs in the top 10 include Ohio State ($29 million) and Arizona ($26.9 million).

Forbes ranked teams using three-year average revenues across the 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons and relied on annual filings made by each school’s athletic department to the NCAA and the Department of Education. Forbes also made adjustments to factor in differences in accounting practices.