Never mind for a moment which college-football team is No. 1 on the field. Is Texas losing its grip on being No. 1 at the bank?
According to an annual analysis of the values of college-football programs, Texas remains the most valuable team in the sport. But the gap is narrowing: The Longhornswhose 2011-12 valuation is $761.7 millionnow are only slightly ahead of Michigan ($731.9 million).
Ryan Brewer, an assistant professor of finance at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, calculated the intrinsic valuations for 115 of the teams in the top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision. Among other factors, the study looked at each program's revenues and expenses and made cash-flow adjustments, risk assessments and growth projections for each school. The resulting figures represent what the teams might fetch if they could be bought and sold like pro franchises. (As a point of reference, the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars sold in late 2011 for about $760 million.)
Texas still generates the most revenue in college football, but Michigan's valuation surged 18% over the year before because of improved cash flow, Brewer said. Texas' valuation fell by 5%. As for Monday night's title-game combatants: Notre Dame ranked fourth in the financial study ($597.4 million); Alabama was eighth ($476.0 million).
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