What the Kentucky Athletic Department is Worth in Millions of Dollars [Video]

College athletics is a business. That’s always been the case, but the emergence of NIL has really poked holes in the non-profit fallacy. How much is the business worth? What about at Kentucky? We have a rough estimate and it is an astronomical number.

CNBC sought out to answer the question, “How much is an athletic department worth?” They teamed up with Jason Belzer of AthleticDirectorU to tackle that question. Belzer’s company has advised programs on NIL and private equity investments, helping them compile an expansive database of financial information. They used revenue figures from 2023, estimated NIL spending, and alumni involvement to reach the final valuations for each program.

Ohio State comes in at No. 1 as one of only four athletic departments worth north of $1 billion. The Kentucky athletic department is valued at $775 million, which ranks No. 19 nationally and ninth in the SEC. Mitch Barnhart’s athletic …