Wisconsin Basketball’s Roster Budget Revealed Ahead of 2026-27 Campaign

It’s a known fact at this point that head coach Greg Gard and Wisconsin basketball have done more with less, budget-wise, in recent seasons.

The college basketball arms race keeps getting exponentially pricier, while most schools simply don’t have the deep pockets to keep pace. Throwing together a top-of-the-line roster in college hoops, at least financially, costs schools north of $20 million according to a report from CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander and Isaac Trotter.

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The veteran college basketball writers spent weeks compiling information on the roster costs of each high-major program in the sport, placing each team from the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Big East into tiers according to how much they spent on their 2026-27 roster.

Wisconsin – again, unsurprisingly -was one of the lower spenders among high-major schools. The Badgers were placed into the 5th tier, with a roster valued between $10-12 million.

Where Wisconsin’s payroll stands in college hoops

Wisconsin guard Eian Elmer. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Badgers aren’t quite among the cheapest teams in the sport including programs like Washington, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame, which spend somewhere between $5-7 million on their rosters. Their payroll also certainly isn’t anywhere near the most lavish rosters, where programs like Duke, Michigan, Illinois and St. John’s spend over $20 million.

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The Badgers’ aforementioned roster range of $10-12 million puts them in the same tier as the following programs: Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa State, Georgia, TCU, NC State, Clemson and Syracuse.

In terms of the Big Ten, Wisconsin finds itself around the middle of the pack. Here’s how the roster budget tiers shake out for Big Ten teams:

– Tier 1 ($20 million plus): Michigan, Illinois
– Tier 2 (Just under $20 million): Indiana
– Tier 3 ($15.1-17.5 million): Michigan State, USC
– Tier 4 ($12.1-15 million): Oregon, Maryland, Ohio State, UCLA
– Tier 5 ($10-12 million): Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota
– Tier 6…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/wisconsin-basketballs-roster-budget-revealed-210031315.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-21 21:00:00

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