Study says Louisville has college basketball’s best fanbase; Kentucky 7th

The folks over at the Emory Sports Marketing Analytics put together an interesting study on Wednesday.

In an effort to determine what college basketball program in the country has the strongest fanbase -- they call it “Fan Equity”, which sounds really smart -- they may have accidentally thrown some gas on the fire of the rivalry between Louisville and Kentucky. Here are the basics:

We use a statistical model that predicts team revenues as a function of the team’s performance, as measured by winning rates and post season success. The key insight is that when a team achieves revenues that greatly exceed what would be expected based on team performance, it is an indication of significant brand equity.

The results?

Louisville has the most ‘fan equity’ in the nation. Kentucky? They’re seventh.

Here’s the entire top ten:

1. Louisville
2. Arizona
3. Duke
4. Arkansas
5. North Carolina
6. Texas
7. Kentucky
8. Syracuse
9. Marquette
10. Oklahoma State

What’s important to note here is that this isn’t a study that is supposed to determine whose fans are the most passionate. It’s sole purpose is to figure out which fan base is still spending money when their team is bad. That’s why Arkansas is so high on this list. They sell out Bud Walton Arena even when they’re going 2-14 in the SEC. Texas has an athletic department that prints money whether or not they win basketball games.

So settle down, Kentucky fans.

We all know you’re actually No. 1.