Ryan Brewer, an associate professor of finance at Indiana University Columbus, put together a list of the most valuable teams in college basketball. North Carolina topped the list, which was publicized by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, with a valuation of $378 million. Dayton ranked 17th with a valuation of $178 million.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “The numbers are the product of a regular study conducted by Brewer, who begins his research with a simple question: What would these teams be worth if they could be bought and sold like a pro sports team? He answers it by studying revenues and cash flows while making financial projections about the team’s sustainability.”
Brewer has done this study for years. Dayton ranked 24th in 2016 with a valuation of $80.6 million. In 2019, Dayton ranked 18th with a value of $100,010,00.
Dayton is the top program on the list from outside the power conferences. The next highest-ranked Atlantic 10 Conference program on the 2025 list was Virginia Commonwealth, which ranked 81st with a value of $54 million.
In 2019, Dayton Athletic Director Neil Sullivan talked about Dayton’s ranking in the study and said, “Obviously, it’s a reflection of our fans and our tradition, so we are certainly proud to be in that group that is considered to have a really healthy basketball program that is well supported financially and otherwise. At the same, we’re not for sale. Our (goal) is providing value to our fans, winning championships, graduating successful young men and representing ourselves well.”
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