How Much Does A Trip to the Sweet 16 Cost?

It’s no secret that college basketball is big business. Today, more conferences are cashing in on successful runs in March to secure lucrative television contracts. Despite a momentum shift in favor of mid-major schools in recent years largely due to scholarship limits and star players bolting early for the professional ranks, spending gaps between schools from major conferences and mid-majors still exist.

Below is a breakdown of money spent by last year’s Sweet 16 schools for their men’s basketball program and recruiting, respectively. The national rank among the 330 Division I schools is in parentheses.

Team	Men’s Basketball	Recruiting
Boston College	$1.595m (108)	$336,786 (76)
Bradley	$1.752m (99)	$118,758 (172)
Connecticut	$5.525m (10)	$531,687 (35)
Duke	$7.400m (2)	$754,380 (6)
Florida	$4.649m (15)	$749,160 (8)
George Mason	$1.020m (183)	$125,798 (160)
Georgetown	$3.712m (27)	$58,561 (263)
Gonzaga	$1.582m (110)	$122,026 (167)
LSU	$2.217m (85)	$558,871 (30)
Memphis	$4.478m (18)	$344,067 (71)
Texas	$5.088m (12)	$715,324 (10)
UCLA	$3.659m (29)	$377,593 (66)
Villanova	$2.618m (65)	$206,667 (112)
Washington	$3.191m (40)	$429,585 (54)
West Virginia	$3.066m (44)	$627,700 (18)
Wichita St.	$2.012m (91)	$133,248 (153)

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education

FINDINGS:

• The Bradley Braves spent more on their program than ACC school Boston College; however, BC has a football program that gets more attention.
• Additionally, Georgetown spent the least amount of money on recruiting. This is absolutely fascinating considering the talent that JT3 has brought to DC.
• Meanwhile, Florida made amends for continual disappointments in the NCAA tournament and made good on their long-term investment by being the nation’s best team in March and April.
• The disproportionate amount of money spent in recruiting by LSU paid off … and his name is Tyrus Thomas. Not to mention, he was not highly touted coming out of high school - believe it or not.