Good news, football fans, the football season is finally here! The college football season has already kicked off (sorry, I couldn’t help myself!), and the professional teams started playing last night.

My nephew recently began his freshman year at Penn State – not to play football, but to study accounting. Anyway, he’s been talking about going to Penn State for a while now, both in terms of the academics as well as being able to soak up the atmosphere at home games (where more than 100,000 people attend!), so I’ve become more interested in college football.

Like pro football, college football is BIG business, especially for the big-name schools. In its most recent study conducted during the 2017 season, The Wall Street Journal determined each football program’s value using available revenues and expenses, making cash-flow adjustments, risk assessments and growth projections for each school. Here are the most valuable football programs in the country. (And I have to tell you, I was shocked to see these numbers!)

1. Ohio State (estimated value of $1.5 billion at the end of the 2017 season)
2. Texas ($1.2 billion)
3. Oklahoma ($1 billion)
4. Alabama ($930 million)
5. LSU ($910 million)
6. Michigan ($892 million)
7. Notre Dame ($856 million)
8. Georgia ($822 million)
9. Tennessee ($745 million)
10. Auburn ($724 million)
11. Florida ($682 million)
12. Penn State ($549 million)
13. Texas A&M ($522 million)
14. Nebraska ($507 million)
15. South Carolina ($484 million)
16. Iowa ($483 million)
17. Arkansas ($456 million)
18. Wisconsin ($439 million)
19. Washington ($434 million)
20. Florida State ($385 million)

Now you might think that going to a college game wouldn’t be too costly, but that’s not always the case. According to marketwatch.com, in 2016 the average cost of attending an NFL game was around $90. In 2017, if you didn’t get a student ticket, there were at least 48 schools whose football tickets exceed that average price.

For me, I’ll just watch the games on TV! And when I speak to my nephew, he can tell me all about how Penn State played.

Do you go to football – high school, college, or pro – games? Let us know!

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

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