Leave it to Forbes to publish an extensive list of college football’s best and worst teams for the money.
The two lists rank the top ten most and least cost-efficient FBS teams. It takes each school’s reported football expenses between the 2009 and 2011 seasons to compare how much each team spent per win.
Topping the list of most cost-efficient teams is Kansas State at $1.4 million per win. K-State went 23-15 over the past three seasons, meaning that their 23 wins cost approximately $32.2 million total. They are closely followed by the Stanford Cardinal at $1.52 million per win, and the North Carolina State Wolf Pack at $1.58 million.
Oregon sits at No. 6 on the list, spending about $1.7 million per win. With a combined record of 34-6 between ’09 and ’11, Oregon is the winningest team on the list followed by the LSU Tigers at 33-7 spending $1.8 million per win.
Only three of the most cost-efficient teams ended up making it on Forbes sports business reporter Chris Smith’s list of most valuable teams; LSU, Oklahoma and yes, your very own Oregon Ducks, who burst onto the list for the first time ever along with fellow Pac-12 school and rival Washington.
The University of Kansas Jayhawks are at the top of the worst list and are by far the least cost-efficient team in college football, spending $8 million per win with only nine wins and 27 losses over the past three seasons. KU paid former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis $2.5 million this year only to be snubbed in a 1-11 season while K-State is set to face the Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl.
The next least cost-efficient team is the University of Indiana Hoosiers at $5.8 million per win, well behind KU.