-Jim Root
Two years ago, I took a look at the budgets of men’s college basketball programs. Everyone loves money talk, and that article garnered a surprising level of attention, so I figured revisiting it now would be a worthwhile exercise.
Using the same report from the Equity in Athletics Data Analysis site, I assembled a listing with (nearly) every Division I men’s basketball program’s reported expenses. This uses the 2020-21 season (’21-22 data is not ready yet).
As you might remember, the 2020-21 season had some, uh, extenuating circumstances. Astronomically lower recruiting budgets due to COVID restrictions, shorter season by ~two weeks, teams attempting to travel less, etc. The ultimate result was an average decrease of nearly $800k per team, or 15%.
A few of the decreases were particularly eyebrow raise-inducing: for instance, Duke’s budget dropped almost $8 million compared to the 2018-19 report. Perhaps that’s all a drop in recruiting travel for Coach K’s private jet, or perhaps it’s the reason for Duke having its worst season in decades. Or MAYBE it’s all of Duke’s bags of cash now being routed through NIL instead of covertly through the MBB budget. Who can say!
On the other hand, a select few programs saw a spike in spending: Texas, Wichita State, Arizona, plus a few others. You may note that all three of those schools had coaching changes in the 2020-21 cycle, with Wichita and Arizona each paying sizable buyouts. This report does not have any expense detail, but it seems reasonable to surmise that coaching changes = anomalous jumps in spending.
A few other caveats here:
-Like in 2020, we’re missing some teams. Excluded from this analysis: all eight Ivy schools (it took me way too long to remember they did not play basketball in 2020-21), all three military academies, and the two other schools who never took the court during the 20-21 season, Bethune-Cookman and Maryland Eastern Shore.
-I think I have all teams designated by their 2022-23 leagues. The CAA, Sun Belt, and C-USA are the leagues most affected by this change. Obviously, the 20-21 conference alignment is different, but I chose to paint the “forward-looking” picture.
-Teams that were not Division I in 2020-21 (see: St. Thomas and the D-I newbies in 2022-23) are excluded.
With that being said, here are the budgets by conference:
Mean budgets
Median budgets
I continue to think this is the best way to view the division of leagues. The top six are the power six; the American, WCC, A-10, and MW are the high-majors; the next 18 (plus Ivy) conferences are the mid-major leagues; the Southland, MEAC, and SWAC comprise the low-major landscape.
The OVC, however, is fading fast, with its most powerful programs having been snatched up by the MVC and ASUN. Unsurprisingly, the league rebuked Chicago State despite an obvious need for teams and a logical geographical fit.
Oh, the Cougars. They are not included here, as they currently reside in the limbo of D-I independents for 2022-23. Even the MEAC turned them down yesterday. I honestly do not know where Chicago State goes from here.
The overall landscape will shift even further in the next couple of years, as the Texas/Oklahoma dominoes start another chain reaction of lower level realignment. If interest persists, I will revisit this listing again in 2023.
Money Monsters
Changing gears a bit, here’s a quick look at the Money Monsters - aka the teams spending far above their league median. The top 16 are higher than 70% above the median:
Belmont falls off that list with its rise into the MVC (and also a noticeable drop in expenses - possibly Rick Byrd-related?). Interestingly, James Madison goes from one of the biggest spenders in the CAA to a true financial bully in Sun Belt (the yellow league denotes an affiliation change).
Grand Canyon continues to drastically outspend its WAC counterparts, but at least that finally translated to an NCAA Tournament bid in 2021. Gonzaga, Wichita St., Kentucky, and Duke are natural repeat offenders here, and I was not at all surprised to see Liberty, New Mexico St., and Iona, either.
On the other hand, High Point and Denver are rather shocking to see. The Panthers are once again probably here due to the Tubby Smith effect, but I have very little idea on what’s happening with the Pioneers. Perhaps it’s due to a Rodney Billups buyout? I hope he’s donating some of that money to Denver-area charities.
Penny Pinchers
And the inverse, the Penny Pinchers - spending well below the league median. Here’s the 15 schools sitting at 35% less (or lower) than their peers:
Hampton and NC A&T’s meteoric rise from MEAC to CAA will require a major spending increase to remain competitive.
Notably, Butler elevated itself just above this distinction after being the “most disadvantaged” power conference school in 2018-19. Now, the Bulldogs spend 29% less than the Big East median. Now, Oklahoma St. and Iowa St. hold the title as most frugal power conference affiliates (on a relative basis).
Many of the other teams here — San Jose State, East Carolina, Mississippi Valley State — are not surprising.
Finally, below is the full listing of every team in the country: