Inside A Group Of Ultra-Rich Fans Using Their Billions To Bankroll Schools In The NCAA Tournament

Forbes

With college sports in their NIL era, it helps to have a big-money backer—the way that Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank (estimated net worth: $1 billion) has bolstered the University of Maryland’s athletics department or that David Booth, who cofounded Dimensional Fund Advisors and is worth $2.5 billion, has donated to his alma mater, Kansas.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2025/03/20/meet-the-billionaire-march-madness-boosters/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, meet the billionaire March Madness boosters.

00:06With college sports in their NIL era, or name, image, and likeness era,

00:11it helps to have a big money backer.

00:13The way that Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, whose estimated net worth is $1 billion,

00:18has bolstered the University of Maryland's athletics department.

00:22Or the way that David Booth, who co-founded Dimensional Fund Advisors

00:26and is worth $2.5 billion, has donated to his alma mater, Kansas.

00:32Auburn, the number one overall seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket,

00:37can tap into the estimated $1.5 billion net worth of Jimmy Rain,

00:42founder of Great Southern Wood Preserving,

00:45which makes decks, fences, and other treated lumber products.

00:48But it's not just powerhouse programs with access to deep pockets.

00:53Body Armour co-founder Mike Rapolle, who's worth $1.6 billion,

00:58has helped lead a basketball turnaround at St. John's University,

01:01culminating in the program's first Big East tournament title in 25 years

01:06under the Red Storm's second-year coach, Hall of Famer Rick Pitino.

01:10Meanwhile, Ryan Smith, co-founder of enterprise software company Qualtrics

01:15and the owner of the NBA's Utah Jazz and the NHL's Utah Hockey Club,

01:20has a net worth estimated at $2.6 billion and supports BYU.

01:25He even pitched in with the recruiting of A.J. DiBonza for next year's team,

01:30meeting with the top-ranked basketball prospect's father and financial advisor,

01:34although he later clarified that he didn't direct any money to DiBonza's NIL package.

01:40Still, even those billions look like chump change next to our list of super-rich superfans,

01:46a Sweet 16 with a combined net worth that Forbes estimates at $357 billion,

01:52as the NCAA's men's basketball tournament just tipped off last week.

01:57Here are a few of the wealthiest boosters who have donated to the athletics departments

02:01of this year's March Madness teams, with their net worths estimated as of March 19th.

02:07First up, Larry Ellison, whose net worth is $186.5 billion, and the University of Michigan.

02:15The 80-year-old co-founder of tech giant Oracle and the world's fourth-richest man

02:21helped pay for the NIL package that flipped quarterback recruit Bryce Underwood

02:26from LSU to Michigan in November.

02:29Ellison had no established connection to the university,

02:32until it emerged that his previously unknown wife, JoLynn, was an alum.

02:38Next, we have Phil Knight, whose net worth is $33.5 billion, and the University of Oregon.

02:46A middle-distance runner on Oregon's track team in the 1950s,

02:50the 87-year-old Nike co-founder has made two separate $500 million donations

02:55to the school's academic programs, and is a longtime sports mega-booster.

03:00In 2007, he donated $100 million to the athletics department,

03:04then the largest philanthropic gift in the school's history.

03:08And in 2021, he helped organize a for-profit NIL collective for Ducks athletes

03:13called Division Street.

03:15Explaining Knight's impact on his recruitment for the 2025 season,

03:19high school cornerback Naeem Offord told CBS Sports, quote,

03:30Knight's generosity doesn't stop at Oregon, either.

03:33He has also donated to the athletics department at Stanford,

03:36where he earned his master's degree in business administration.

03:40And then we have Jerry Jones, whose net worth is $17 billion,

03:45and the University of Arkansas.

03:47In 2015, Arkansas Athletics received $10.65 million from the oil mogul

03:54and longtime owner of the Dallas Cowboys.

03:56The now 82-year-old was a co-captain of the Razorbacks' national champion football team

04:01in 1964.

04:03Jones is joined on the university's billionaire roster by John Tyson,

04:07who is 71 years old and who serves as chairman of meat processor Tyson Foods.

04:12Worth an estimated $2.9 billion, Tyson donated $6 million towards revamping

04:18the school's indoor track facility in 2018.

04:22For full coverage, and to see our list of 16 super-rich superfans,

04:27check out Brett Knight's piece on Forbes.com.

04:31This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:34Thanks for tuning in.

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