Though excluded from the NCAA tournament, University of Louisville men's basketball tops the list of highest grossing programs with nearly $44 million – or $2.9 million per athlete – in 2016, according to a Higher Education Tribune analysis of the latest federal data.
The U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education compiles athletics data annually from more than 2,000 schools receiving federal financial aid.
More than 1,900 of those schools have men's basketball programs. In all, they grossed more than $2 billion in 2016.
Duke University grossed $34 million, followed by Syracuse University ($29 million), University of Kentucky ($28 million) and Indiana University ($25 million).
Fifty-seven of the 68 teams in the NCAA tournament are in the top 200 programs.
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Top 200 men's basketball programs by revenue
School | State | Division | Men's basketball players | Men's basketball revenue | Revenue per athlete | |
1 | University of Louisville | KY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $43,960,492 | $2,930,699 |
2 | Duke University | NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $34,398,285 | $2,149,893 |
3 | Syracuse University | NY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 19 | $29,322,084 | $1,543,268 |
4 | University of Kentucky | KY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $27,965,227 | $1,864,348 |
5 | Indiana University-Bloomington | IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $24,560,829 | $1,535,052 |
6 | University of Arizona | AZ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $23,434,825 | $1,562,322 |
7 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $23,168,473 | $1,362,851 |
8 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18 | $21,408,475 | $1,189,360 |
9 | Marquette University | WI | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $19,327,629 | $1,288,509 |
10 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $18,322,729 | $1,145,171 |
11 | University of Kansas | KS | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $18,266,319 | $1,217,755 |
12 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 13 | $18,250,063 | $1,403,851 |
13 | University of Maryland-College Park | MD | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $17,741,322 | $1,108,833 |
14 | Georgetown University | DC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 14 | $17,702,377 | $1,264,456 |
15 | The University of Texas at Austin | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $17,567,914 | $1,254,851 |
16 | Michigan State University | MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18 | $17,548,611 | $974,923 |
17 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $16,913,194 | $994,894 |
18 | University of Arkansas | AR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $16,332,876 | $1,166,634 |
19 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $15,827,099 | $989,194 |
20 | The University of Alabama | AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $15,003,656 | $1,000,244 |
21 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $14,611,434 | $859,496 |
22 | Northwestern University | IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $14,581,162 | $1,041,512 |
23 | University of Florida | FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $14,200,425 | $1,014,316 |
24 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | MN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $14,172,048 | $885,753 |
25 | University of Dayton | OH | NCAA Division I-FCS | 18 | $14,031,059 | $779,503 |
26 | University of Connecticut | CT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21 | $13,798,668 | $657,079 |
27 | Iowa State University | IA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $13,604,289 | $906,953 |
28 | University of California-Los Angeles | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $13,416,856 | $894,457 |
29 | Florida State University | FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18 | $13,252,028 | $736,224 |
30 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $13,190,742 | $824,421 |
31 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $12,994,273 | $928,162 |
32 | Texas Christian University | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $12,889,761 | $805,610 |
33 | Xavier University | OH | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $12,707,109 | $747,477 |
34 | Gonzaga University | WA | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $12,131,756 | $713,633 |
35 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | SC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $11,948,781 | $702,869 |
36 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $11,720,028 | $781,335 |
37 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $11,376,448 | $812,603 |
38 | University of Oregon | OR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18 | $11,149,777 | $619,432 |
39 | Villanova University | PA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $11,120,378 | $741,359 |
40 | Clemson University | SC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $11,103,355 | $740,224 |
41 | University of Miami | FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 13 | $10,868,814 | $836,063 |
42 | University of Mississippi | MS | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $10,700,408 | $713,361 |
43 | University of California-Berkeley | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18 | $10,443,327 | $580,185 |
44 | Purdue University-Main Campus | IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $10,171,629 | $726,545 |
45 | University of Missouri-Columbia | MO | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $10,065,698 | $671,047 |
46 | Auburn University | AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21 | $9,900,612 | $471,458 |
47 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | NE | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $9,812,781 | $700,913 |
48 | University of Memphis | TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 13 | $9,725,710 | $748,132 |
49 | University of Iowa | IA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $9,707,864 | $647,191 |
50 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | WA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $9,683,868 | $691,705 |
51 | University of Georgia | GA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $9,459,251 | $630,617 |
52 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $9,428,524 | $589,283 |
53 | Vanderbilt University | TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 12 | $9,378,279 | $781,523 |
54 | Kansas State University | KS | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $9,192,918 | $540,760 |
55 | Baylor University | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $9,097,264 | $649,805 |
56 | Providence College | RI | NCAA Division I without football | 14 | $9,081,267 | $648,662 |
57 | Brigham Young University-Provo | UT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18 | $8,986,993 | $499,277 |
58 | Texas A & M University-College Station | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $8,905,402 | $556,588 |
59 | Virginia Commonwealth University | VA | NCAA Division I without football | 14 | $8,830,848 | $630,775 |
60 | University of Utah | UT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $8,754,441 | $547,153 |
61 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $8,555,125 | $503,243 |
62 | University of Colorado Boulder | CO | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $8,374,472 | $523,405 |
63 | St John's University-New York | NY | NCAA Division I without football | 16 | $8,323,127 | $520,195 |
64 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | NJ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $8,168,723 | $510,545 |
65 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | LA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $8,135,734 | $542,382 |
66 | Wake Forest University | NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $8,101,958 | $476,586 |
67 | Texas Tech University | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $8,005,272 | $500,330 |
68 | Arizona State University-Tempe | AZ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $7,693,224 | $480,827 |
69 | Creighton University | NE | NCAA Division I without football | 16 | $7,665,992 | $479,125 |
70 | Mississippi State University | MS | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $7,572,191 | $445,423 |
71 | Wichita State University | KS | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $7,426,190 | $436,835 |
72 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | GA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $7,284,387 | $455,274 |
73 | Southern Methodist University | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 13 | $7,269,481 | $559,191 |
74 | Stanford University | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $6,971,688 | $410,099 |
75 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $6,970,262 | $497,876 |
76 | West Virginia University | WV | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $6,846,053 | $456,404 |
77 | Boston College | MA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $6,814,030 | $425,877 |
78 | San Diego State University | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $6,453,937 | $379,643 |
79 | Oregon State University | OR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $6,321,026 | $421,402 |
80 | Butler University | IN | Other | 14 | $6,198,953 | $442,782 |
81 | University of Tulsa | OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18 | $6,130,964 | $340,609 |
82 | Seton Hall University | NJ | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $6,011,447 | $400,763 |
83 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas | NV | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $5,888,664 | $392,578 |
84 | Washington State University | WA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $5,737,509 | $409,822 |
85 | Temple University | PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $5,675,239 | $405,374 |
86 | University of Nevada-Reno | NV | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $5,653,559 | $353,347 |
87 | Saint Louis University | MO | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $5,590,746 | $372,716 |
88 | DePaul University | IL | NCAA Division I without football | 16 | $5,533,811 | $345,863 |
89 | University of Southern California | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $5,457,322 | $389,809 |
90 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | MA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $5,324,089 | $354,939 |
91 | University of South Florida-Main Campus | FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $5,249,672 | $349,978 |
92 | The University of Texas at El Paso | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $5,157,556 | $303,386 |
93 | University of Richmond | VA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 16 | $4,878,508 | $304,907 |
94 | University of Rhode Island | RI | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $4,832,740 | $322,183 |
95 | University of Houston | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 13 | $4,750,737 | $365,441 |
96 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | CO | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $4,512,525 | $265,443 |
97 | Duquesne University | PA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 16 | $4,445,910 | $277,869 |
98 | Fordham University | NY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 19 | $4,436,291 | $233,489 |
99 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | NCAA Division I without football | 18 | $4,340,799 | $241,156 |
100 | University of San Francisco | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $4,254,947 | $283,663 |
101 | Saint Joseph's University | PA | NCAA Division I without football | 18 | $4,212,082 | $234,005 |
102 | Tulane University of Louisiana | LA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $4,207,110 | $247,477 |
103 | University of Central Florida | FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $4,155,621 | $259,726 |
104 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | NM | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $4,130,599 | $258,162 |
105 | Santa Clara University | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 18 | $3,990,886 | $221,716 |
106 | University of Notre Dame | IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $3,896,784 | $278,342 |
107 | Boise State University | ID | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $3,688,228 | $263,445 |
108 | University of the Pacific | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 18 | $3,684,884 | $204,716 |
109 | Loyola Marymount University | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 13 | $3,645,976 | $280,460 |
110 | Old Dominion University | VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $3,628,513 | $241,901 |
111 | Rice University | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $3,599,914 | $211,760 |
112 | George Mason University | VA | NCAA Division I without football | 14 | $3,515,918 | $251,137 |
113 | University of Wyoming | WY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $3,508,684 | $219,293 |
114 | East Carolina University | NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $3,489,508 | $232,634 |
115 | Seattle University | WA | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $3,477,443 | $204,555 |
116 | Saint Mary's College of California | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $3,467,559 | $231,171 |
117 | St Bonaventure University | NY | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $3,449,008 | $229,934 |
118 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 13 | $3,369,190 | $259,168 |
119 | Bradley University | IL | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $3,359,417 | $223,961 |
120 | Utah State University | UT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 30 | $3,291,251 | $109,708 |
121 | California State University-Fresno | CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 19 | $3,291,010 | $173,211 |
122 | University of North Texas | TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $3,281,375 | $218,758 |
123 | University of Portland | OR | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $3,184,946 | $212,330 |
124 | Murray State University | KY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 12 | $3,114,154 | $259,513 |
125 | Siena College | NY | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $3,102,278 | $206,819 |
126 | La Salle University | PA | NCAA Division I without football | 13 | $3,096,492 | $238,192 |
127 | Wright State University-Main Campus | OH | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $3,050,260 | $203,351 |
128 | Middle Tennessee State University | TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18 | $2,992,258 | $166,237 |
129 | University of North Carolina Wilmington | NC | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $2,981,003 | $198,734 |
130 | University of Akron Main Campus | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $2,958,089 | $184,881 |
131 | George Washington University | DC | NCAA Division I without football | 14 | $2,943,015 | $210,215 |
132 | James Madison University | VA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 16 | $2,911,439 | $181,965 |
133 | Drexel University | PA | NCAA Division I without football | 18 | $2,861,372 | $158,965 |
134 | University of Northern Iowa | IA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 16 | $2,856,369 | $178,523 |
135 | Liberty University | VA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 16 | $2,856,213 | $178,513 |
136 | Pepperdine University | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $2,830,636 | $166,508 |
137 | Loyola University Chicago | IL | NCAA Division I without football | 19 | $2,821,576 | $148,504 |
138 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | HI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $2,790,526 | $186,035 |
139 | University of California-Irvine | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 16 | $2,777,164 | $173,573 |
140 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $2,771,813 | $173,238 |
141 | Northeastern University | MA | NCAA Division I without football | 11 | $2,740,955 | $249,178 |
142 | Drake University | IA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,696,721 | $179,781 |
143 | Monmouth University | NJ | NCAA Division I-FCS | 16 | $2,690,690 | $168,168 |
144 | Belmont University | TN | NCAA Division I without football | 14 | $2,688,559 | $192,040 |
145 | University of Toledo | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 16 | $2,675,033 | $167,190 |
146 | University of Evansville | IN | NCAA Division I without football | 14 | $2,622,979 | $187,356 |
147 | Oral Roberts University | OK | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $2,620,054 | $174,670 |
148 | Western Kentucky University | KY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $2,618,066 | $174,538 |
149 | University of San Diego | CA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,613,793 | $174,253 |
150 | Hofstra University | NY | NCAA Division I without football | 13 | $2,613,307 | $201,024 |
151 | Quinnipiac University | CT | NCAA Division I without football | 14 | $2,609,446 | $186,389 |
152 | Ohio University-Main Campus | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $2,596,895 | $152,759 |
153 | Davidson College | NC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 17 | $2,594,894 | $152,641 |
154 | Fairfield University | CT | NCAA Division I without football | 14 | $2,582,865 | $184,490 |
155 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 13 | $2,580,920 | $198,532 |
156 | Troy University | AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $2,569,292 | $171,286 |
157 | California State University-Long Beach | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $2,549,979 | $169,999 |
158 | Bucknell University | PA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 13 | $2,544,585 | $195,737 |
159 | Iona College | NY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,514,963 | $167,664 |
160 | Marshall University | WV | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $2,512,872 | $147,816 |
161 | Miami University-Oxford | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $2,511,964 | $179,426 |
162 | University of California-Santa Barbara | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $2,511,546 | $147,738 |
163 | Missouri State University-Springfield | MO | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,506,636 | $167,109 |
164 | Valparaiso University | IN | NCAA Division I-FCS | 13 | $2,504,241 | $192,634 |
165 | Cleveland State University | OH | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $2,503,813 | $147,283 |
166 | Louisiana Tech University | LA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 14 | $2,503,640 | $178,831 |
167 | University of Detroit Mercy | MI | NCAA Division I without football | 16 | $2,502,061 | $156,379 |
168 | University of Delaware | DE | NCAA Division I-FCS | 14 | $2,472,966 | $176,640 |
169 | University of Denver | CO | NCAA Division I without football | 16 | $2,456,771 | $153,548 |
170 | College of Charleston | SC | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $2,422,777 | $161,518 |
171 | Furman University | SC | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,421,923 | $161,462 |
172 | Georgia State University | GA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $2,421,793 | $161,453 |
173 | University of Illinois at Chicago | IL | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $2,417,955 | $142,233 |
174 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus | NM | NCAA Division I-FBS | 19 | $2,391,115 | $125,848 |
175 | Western Michigan University | MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $2,374,548 | $158,303 |
176 | Kent State University at Kent | OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $2,348,157 | $156,544 |
177 | Manhattan College | NY | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $2,337,236 | $155,816 |
178 | Radford University | VA | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $2,325,900 | $136,818 |
179 | Coastal Carolina University | SC | Other | 14 | $2,315,705 | $165,408 |
180 | Illinois State University | IL | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,311,466 | $154,098 |
181 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | LA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 19 | $2,278,475 | $119,920 |
182 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | WI | NCAA Division I without football | 16 | $2,241,355 | $140,085 |
183 | SUNY at Albany | NY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 14 | $2,217,109 | $158,365 |
184 | University at Buffalo | NY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $2,214,350 | $147,623 |
185 | University of California-Davis | CA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,211,257 | $147,417 |
186 | University of Missouri-Kansas City | MO | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $2,207,560 | $129,856 |
187 | California State University-Northridge | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 18 | $2,200,211 | $122,234 |
188 | Robert Morris University | PA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,179,096 | $145,273 |
189 | Utah Valley University | UT | NCAA Division I without football | 17 | $2,148,015 | $126,354 |
190 | University of Vermont | VT | NCAA Division I without football | 16 | $2,138,606 | $133,663 |
191 | Loyola University Maryland | MD | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $2,137,410 | $142,494 |
192 | College of the Holy Cross | MA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 16 | $2,117,804 | $132,363 |
193 | Oakland University | MI | NCAA Division I without football | 16 | $2,110,672 | $131,917 |
194 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | IL | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,093,251 | $139,550 |
195 | California State University-Bakersfield | CA | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $2,092,139 | $139,476 |
196 | College of William and Mary | VA | NCAA Division I-FCS | 14 | $2,071,156 | $147,940 |
197 | High Point University | NC | NCAA Division I without football | 15 | $2,066,953 | $137,797 |
198 | Florida Atlantic University | FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 15 | $2,063,811 | $137,587 |
199 | University of South Alabama | AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 17 | $2,054,100 | $120,829 |
200 | Stony Brook University | NY | NCAA Division I-FCS | 15 | $2,045,144 | $136,343 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education