Central Michigan men's basketball team valued at $9.4 million, according to annual study
If the Central Michigan men's basketball team could be sold on the open market, the team would be worth $9.4 million according to the Wall Street Journal.
Ryan Brewer, an assistant professor of finance at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, conducts the annual study. For the NCAA men's basketball teams, Brewer selected the 174 teams — CMU placed 131st — based on the prominence of the conference and other variables, like if a team had been to the NCAA Tournament in recent seasons.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "Brewer analyzed each program’s revenues and expenses and made cash-flow adjustments, risk assessments and growth projections to calculate what a college team would be worth on the open market, if it could be bought and sold like a professional franchise."
The Central Michigan men's basketball program ranked sixth of the 12 Mid-American Conference teams, valued at $9.4 million in 2015.
The program was valued at $6.7 million in 2015, equating to a 40.5 percent increase — the seventh largest increase of the 174 NCAA Division I teams studied.
Brewer does the same with college football teams, in which CMU ranked 70th of 116 teams in 2015 and first in the MAC with a value of $53.93 million.
After winning 11 games or fewer for four seasons in a row, CMU was 23-9 and MAC regular season champions in 2014-15. The team was 17-16 this season, losing in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament in the first round.
Despite a self-imposed postseason ban, the Louisville Cardinals topped the list, with a value of $301.3 million. Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio State rounded out the top five.
Michigan State ranks 12th, being worth $126.6 million while Michigan lands 21st at $82.1 million.
