Report: Big East was most profitable basketball conference in America during 2013-14 season

Mar 15, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Providence Friars guard Bryce Cotton (11) celebrates after defeating the Providence Friars to win the championship game of the Big East college basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

Who says college sports is all about football and the money it gives conferences? After a very bitter and public dispute that led to the breakup of the Big East in to two separate conferences, the new-look Big East became a basketball-centric conference once again.

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Financially speaking it may have been the smartest move possible—as the new-look conference became the most profitable basketball conference in the country, according to a report by Breitbart.com earlier this week.

The report by John Pudner, indicates the conference pulled in a profit of $154,122,296 last season, its first as a basketball-only conference.

A large part of that profit was due to its huge contract with Fox Sports 1, along with payouts from performances in the NCAA tournament and not having the costs of football associated with it as well.

Just behind them in the profit rankings were the Big Ten ($138,054,933) and the ACC ($133,479,911), both of whom could join the Big East in the $150 million-range this next season based on shifting memberships and contracts.

Louisville was estimated to earn a cool $25 million in profit and that would certainly boost the numbers for the ACC, while Maryland had an $8 million profit last season and that could be much bigger in the Big Ten.

Of the six biggest basketball conferences in the country, the Pac-12 appears to be lagging behind everyone else in profitability. The league generated just over $80 million in profit last season. despite that mark it appears the Pac-12 is leading in putting players in to the NBA, ranking first in that category according to Pudner’s report.