Buffs men’s basketball has one of the lowest roster budgets among power-conference schools: report

CU Buffs men’s basketball appears to be bringing a slingshot to a battle among fortified tanks — at least from a roster-building budget perspective.

According to a report from CBS Sports, the Buffs rank in the bottom tier among power-conference programs in NIL allocations towards the men’s basketball roster, spending between $5 and $7 million on this season’s roster.

CU is one of two Big XII programs in this tier; Kansas State is the other. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Buffs and Wildcats were placed 14th in the 16-team Big XII in the preseason coaches poll; only Utah separated the Buffs from the bottom.

The other six power-conference programs in that lowest-spending tier are Washington from the Big Ten and Boston College, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Stanford and Wake Forest from the ACC. According to CBS’ report, Stanford has the lowest cash allocation to its roster among any power-conference program this season.

One of the other schools in that bottom tier, Boston College, is expected to “nearly double” its funds for the roster by spring.

The Buffs’ reported roster allocation lags well behind the Big XII average of $12.6 million. In the conference, that pace is set by Texas Tech, which is one of 11 power-conference schools spending at least $20 million, a group that includes preseason No. 1 Florida, defending national-champion Michigan, and blue bloods Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Elsewhere in the Big XII, Kansas’ roster budget is just under $20 million. Arizona, Cincinnati, Houston and Oklahoma State check in at between $15.1 and $17.5 million. Baylor, Brigham Young and West Virginia will spend between $12 and $15.1 million.

The Buffs have just four returning scholarship players from last year. They brought in seven freshmen and four players through the transfer portal, although one, Iaroslav Niagu, has not yet been declared eligible. None of the four incoming players were with power-conference programs last year.

BUFFS MEN’S HOOPS BUDGET WAS REPORTED EARLIER THIS YEAR TO BE AMONG THE LOWEST IN POWER-CONFERENCE RANKS, TOO

Seven months ago, Matt Brown of the Extra Points newsletter reported that CU’s overall men’s basketball budget in 2024-25 was $8,608,359, which was 51st among the 51 power-conference programs for which data was available through terms of t he Freedom of Information Act.

(No data was public for private schools Baylor, Brigham Young and TCU, as well as Central Florida, which is a public institution but has an exemption from laws regarding public records.)

What was also notable about that report was that CU trailed a pair of programs outside of power conferences — Memphis (American Athletic Conference) and San Diego State (then in the Mountain West, now in the PAC-12), and the school closest to CU’s budget was another school in the American, South Florida.

CU’s men’s basketball budget in that report was just over $4.5 million behind the Big XII average.

The Buffs went 7-11 in the Big XII last year as part of a 17-16 season. Two seasons ago, CU finished 3-17 in conference play, although it did pull off a pair of wins in the subsequent conference tournament. In each of the last two seasons, the Buffs participated in the postseason College Basketball Crown; their 2025 entry came despite carrying a 14-20 record into that tournament.

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