College Football Program Valuations & Ranking Head Coach Positions

Submitted by Hardware Sushi on

Title basically says it all and I think both articles raise interesting discussion: an IUPU-Columbus reseacher put together valuations for NCAA football programs that Gene Wojo used in his overall ranking of head coaching jobs in all of football.

Michigan lands at #3 in football program value, behind Texas and Florida, and lands at #8 (tied with OSU) for overall job in football, with the Packers as #1. Those are obviously pretty great numbers for us but I'm interested in what everyone else thinks of the overall rankings.

Hardware Sushi

December 12th, 2012 at 12:07 PM ^

I was most surprised at the absence of the Steelers job. They've had like 3 coaches in 30 years and they have a stable ownership, history/prestige and a rabid fanbase.

If anyone knows of a website where NFL coaching salaries are given, it might make it easier to compare some of the NFL jobs to college jobs.

Hardware Sushi

December 12th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^

Here's the guy that did the numbers - seems like he has a lot of experience in valuation & appraisal. Unfortunately I haven't found any methodology for how he came to the exact numbers in the article so it's tough to point out why exactly Rutgers and Maryland are lower.

I assume his valuations take into account revenue streams produced by the Big Ten vs. ACC/Big East television contracts of Maryland/Rutgers (and depending on his accounting and how he was assigning value, possibly the equity each Big Ten program may hold in the Big Ten Network, valued at over $2 bn in 2011...sorry I couldn't find the link), as well as the fact that Maryland has been running a budget in the red the past few years due to alleged mismanagement by a former AD.

Tater

December 12th, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^

I think Michigan is an elite job for an insider, but a terrible job for an outsider.  It sorta reminds me of a bunch of teenagers deciding who "gets" to be "in the club."  It's no accident that Michigan got turned down by every outsider with a pulse during the last coaching search.  Even Jim Harbaugh didn't want to come back home.

superstringer

December 12th, 2012 at 12:46 PM ^

This is a strange temporal analysis -- as in, if each job came open today, which is the best?  It considers transient issues like, who is the AD or owner (which can change in an instant).  But it ignores other transient issues like players on the team, or current records versus rivals, or how much of an effort it would be today to get the team up to snuff, if that was required at all.  All of the teams on the list are currently extremely good (except maybe Texas); did he leave someone off because, as of today, its too much of a reclamation project?

I find the NY Giant inclusion odd, too.  I think all of those things said about the Giants can be said about the 49ers.  The only difference -- one has a legit QB, the other doesn't.  That's way too transitory of a difference to leave one off, but put the other way up high on the list.

And, of course, ultimately the list is garbage because it IGNORES the fact that Sparty is recruiting nationally, internationally and interplanetarily.

LSAClassOf2000

December 12th, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^

The Big Ten overall is not in a bad spot when it comes to average valuation in the conference, which sits at $289.55 million and an average ranking of 23 in this list. In both respects, it is second only to the SEC, which has an average team valuation of $384.87 million and sits at an average ranking of 20. The Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC are the next in order for average values, almost in the exact same order as the dollar amounts on the television deals each conference has, I believe.

Hardware Sushi

December 12th, 2012 at 1:02 PM ^

You're probably dead on. I bet his model places a decent emphasis on future TV deal income.

I wonder if he just projected the Big Ten's current network TV contract in his valuation (e.g. just drew a line extending the path of current payouts) or if he speculated at increased rights fees for the 2017 contract. I assume BTN payout projections did not include guesses as to added value of Maryland and Rutgers.

NFG

December 12th, 2012 at 2:12 PM ^

Did MSU not make the top 10 because it's only a national poll and not a international or intergalactic poll? That is my only justifiable conclusion.

BILG

December 12th, 2012 at 3:17 PM ^

OSU is a better job than Michigan for a coach for one simple reason.  Blind adoration of a crazy yocal populace.  Again, I am looking at this from just the perspective of the head coach. Win at any of the top college programs and you are a god, but a place like Michigan will also judge coaches as an administrator and teacher.

A place like Columbus doesn't give a shit how you win.  The Scarlet and Grey blinders are so thick...as we saw from their Vestivus celebration to honor Tressel during The Game.  Where the local media will crucify its own in Ann Arbor / Detroit (RR Practicegate), Columbus will jump through hoops ala Happy Valley to protect its sacred program.

Michigan is a special coaching job where not many could balance the demands of administration and expectations of the fans.  This is why characters like Lloyd and Hoke with a deep love for the university are necessary.  Career coaches like Meyer or Saban would rather not put up with it.

At Ohio you can run an SEC model.  Easier for a coach, hence a better job.

Space Coyote

December 12th, 2012 at 4:07 PM ^

But Cooper won a ton at OSU and they drove him out on a train, or probably closer to under a train. I guess he didn't beat Michigan enough, which is a real problem for them, but that guy was a good coach for them besides that, a very good coach in fact. They won't just put up with anything.

Space Coyote

December 12th, 2012 at 4:05 PM ^

I understand Green Bay and Texas (honestly, coaching at UT with all the resources would be amazing), but New England wasn't all that special before Bill Belichick, certainly it doesn't have the draw of say the Steelers or the glamer of ND. I would put NE down below the rest of the college teams in the top 10.

I'll leave OSU/UM out of it because that's obviously a homer opinion, but even Florida below LSU doesn't make a lot of sense to me. And the Texans? There is so little cache in that NFL team that that NFL moved to Tennessee about 15 years ago or whatever. There are certainly NFL teams that are better than that, including the Steelers, Bears, Redskins (debatable because of the fan base I guess), Cowboys (see: Redskins), etc.

I dunno, the whole list seems kind of odd.

turtleboy

December 12th, 2012 at 4:10 PM ^

If he made it just last year, or the year before it'd likely look very different.

His assessment of ND isn't completely wrong, but his placement on the list is. They took fat Charlie from the NFL, but so did Kansas. Maybe 30 years ago I could see them that high, but the last 20 or so they should be lower in the top 15. Especially with their turnover. They have their own TV deal, but individual B1G schools take in similar $$$. I'd rate Nebraska/Penn State above them regarding coaching jobs/tenure/ facilities/academics/ect.

LSU I wouldn't rate so high, either. They've had 2 great coaches, but giving Miles annual raises doesn't make them more attractive than USC as a coaching job imho. Even though they've struggled recently I'd rate Tennessee over LSU. Program, facilities, money they spend on staff/recruiting, fan base, ect. LSU is a sweaty sweaty place, Tennessee is beautiful.

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

December 12th, 2012 at 6:20 PM ^

I would put USC ahead of the B1G jobs for a few reasons:

1. Comparable spending, resources, facilities
2. Better recruiting territory
3. Easiest rival (UCLA)
4. More media exposure & touting (yea, ND wins this item)
5. Better weather
6. Home field advantage in Rose Bowl

Kiffin is still a jack-a-lope, so Haden will make a move next year if they don't win the Pac12.