Ranking the 10 best basketball schools that don’t play football

Many universities’ athletic programs may field a complete lineup of teams that don’t include football. The sport is notoriously expensive to maintain, and many schools may simply not have the resources to finance the amenities, pay coaches, maintain equipment, and foot the bill for travel costs, among other roadblocks.

While describing these high-achieving men’s basketball programs, it’s tantalizing to think of the possibilities concerning the formation (or revival) of a football program. Despite the warnings of drastic changes with the new NIL financial incentives for student-athletes and the open transfer portal, more universities are joining the Division I ranks with college football teams.

Of all the universities that play a competitive level of Division I basketball without having a football team, these 10 programs stand above the rest.

My argument is that these universities clearly have the means of financial support and the commitment by school leadership to maintain successful men’s basketball programs. Why not try your luck on the gridiron? It’s a gamble, for sure, but it’s a lucrative payout that can bring intangibles to a university in terms of sense of belonging, exposure, and alumni pride.

Just ask UAB, which shuttered its below-average Division I football program only to bring it back a couple of years later. The Blazers would go on to win the 2018 Conference USA title, the first league championship in school history, and now play in a brand-new 47,000-seat stadium. The university is one of several schools that will join the American Athletic Conference this summer.

It’s not a far stretch of the imagination to see Gonzaga fielding a competitive program that could work its way up to power conference status. A strong Bulldog football program could even be a saving grace of the foundering Pac-12 Conference in the league’s current state.

What are the 10 best college basketball programs that currently don’t have a varsity football team?