"Louisville is the most profitable team in College Basketball," said sports economist Patrick Rishe.
Just from the game of basketball, the Louisville Cardinals takes in more than $40 million in revenue. Profit has been projected to be anywhere betweem $23 and $28 million.
"That's largely due to the new KFC Yum Center," said Rishe about the state-of the-art arena built in 2010. "They also get $20 million in donations from alumni, which is larger than most schools' overall athletic budgets in basketball."
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The basic point is that Louisville is the most profitable program...and it's not even close.
According to Forbes, three teams (Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky) are tied for second with $19.9 million in basketball-related profits.
The bulk of the money may come from fundraising, but the arena really differentiates Louisville from most schools, even from cross-state rival Kentucky.