The entire exercise is a complete waste of time since no college football program will ever be put up for sale -- but it's still somewhat interesting.
Indiana-Purdue University at Columbus assistant finance professor Ryan Brewer has compiled his list of the 10 most valuable college football programs. Ohio State defended its claim as the most valuable brand in the sport, with an appreciation of 56 percent from the end of the 2015 season to today. I'd love to get a look into Brewer's methodology but, alas, the Wall Street Journal has buried it behind a paywall.
The top 10:
1. Ohio State -- $1.5 billion
2. Texas -- $1.2 billion
3. Oklahoma -- $1 billion
4. Alabama -- $930 million
5. LSU -- $911 million
6. Michigan -- $893 million
7. Notre Dame -- $857 million
8. Georgia -- $822 million
9. Tennessee -- $746 million
10. Auburn -- $724 million
This list says that even the most valuable college football program is worth less than the least valuable NFL franchise, at least according to Forbes. The thinking here is that the average Ohioan would rather own the Buckeyes than the Browns or the Bengals.