Gophers one of college basketball’s most valuable teams

Mar 24, 2013; Austin, TX, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Rodney Williams (33) drives against Florida Gators guard/forward Casey Prather (24) during the second half in the third round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at Frank Erwin Center. Florida won 78-64. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Gophers are one of college basketball’s most valuable teams, according to Forbes.

At a value of $16.3 million, the Gophers rank No. 14 in the NCAA, behind fellow Big Ten schools including Ohio State (5th), Indiana (6th), Wisconsin (7th) and Michigan State (10th).

Basketball profit is listed at $11.1 million, according to the Forbes article which was published before Minnesota fired head coach Tubby Smith.

Minnesota is headed to the Big Dance, but Smith’s teams have not had much tournament success in the past. In fact, the Golden Gophers’ two tournament games over the last six seasons were worth less than $500,000 to the Big Ten last year.

Forbes ranked the program’s worth by “basketball revenue spent on athlete scholarships and other academic programming, profit kept by the athletic department to support athletic endeavors and conference revenue generated via NCAA Tournament play.”

The numbers that ranked the Gophers on the list were from the 2011-12 season — and with a two-game NCAA Tournament run this past March, it’s likely the Gophers will rank a little higher on the list next year.

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