Wall Street Journal Reports that Penn State is a Top-10 Most Valuable Program

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Everything about the Penn State football program points to them being an elite team except for what they do on the football field.

Penn State's facilities, the history, the legends, the conference, the hype, and now, the value, are all there. They just need to match it on the football field.

The Wall Street Journal released the top-10 highest-value programs in America, and Penn State checks in at the No. 8 position. It is a list of the typical suspects. You probably could sit here right now and guess at least seven of the top 10 programs but now I am going to list them.

Texas and Texas A&M check in at spots one and two, Ohio State and LSU are tied for third and fourth, followed by Georgia, Michigan, and Notre Dame, before the Nittany Lions check in with a $1.41 billion.

That number actually is in the same slot as Notre Dame's, and truthfully, this is exactly where they need to be. To compete at the top of the sport with the teams that are doing it requires the backing of the dollar bill in today's day and age. 

Where Penn State is relative to how they spend the money that they have is very far off. Now, I'm not naive to the fact that valuation isn't liquid cash. It is tied up in all of their assets as well, but regardless, it is no excuse for how they spend.

According to the documentation that is public, Penn State spends over $20M less than the top of the conference teams, such as Ohio State, Oregon, and USC.

Those programs are putting in over $40M to their roster, where Penn State is allocating just mid $20M.

The narrative around the Penn State program is yearning for change. They are at the top of college football in almost every important category except the wins column.

Now, as Matt Campbell has taken over the program, the hope is that significant change will follow. Some cash will free up when the stadium renovations finish up, and the infusion of Adidas dollars will absolutely help things for the Nittany Lions.

Once they get their money right, the Penn State program should flourish. Hopefully, Matt Campbell is the guy who pushes all of the correct buttons to make it happen.

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