It’s every sports fanatics favorite time of the year: March. One of the most highly anticipated sporting events begins. The only word to describe this sixty-eight team college basketball tournament is madness. Nothing compares to the feeling of waking up that Monday morning after Selection Sunday ready to create the world’s first perfect bracket. The perfect bracket is a near-impossible goal that is usually stomped on by a small underdog school who pulls off a Cinderella story and becomes the ultimate bracket buster. The occasional underdog win, while entertaining and fun for the viewer, can completely change the landscape of a small college.

Getting into the tournament means just as much to the school as it does to the players. Let’s start with the economics. For the 68 teams in the tournament, the NCAA reserves 90%, or approximately $170 million, of its revenue for the universities. Upon entering the tournament, a school will get paid in units. A unit was valued at $337,141 in 2021 but rises by 3% every year. The more times a team wins the more units they receive. A team that makes it to the finals could make up to five units. When a team earns the bonus they are heavily encouraged to distribute it among the rest of their conference, however, they have the option to keep it for themselves. For big schools with high reputations and large student bodies that constantly show up in the tournament, this bonus is just what it seems like: a bonus. However, for small schools from lesser-known conferences, this bonus can turn into 20-25% of their conference revenue. Programs such as the Sports Scholarship fund and the Grants-in-Aid fund are also funded by the revenue from the tournament and are distributed among the schools to help aid different basketball programs.

Players can individually benefit economically from the tournament as well. With the new rule change in 2022, NCAA players can now earn money. Whether it be through endorsements or by other means, players can profit from their play in the tournament.

Not only does the school’s basketball program benefit from a bid in the tournament, but so does the school itself. March Madness is an opportunity for the school to gain a reputation and show off its elite basketball program and student body. Take a school like Butler located in Indianapolis for example. In 2010, the Butler Bulldogs pulled off an incredible Cinderella story defeating multiple powerhouses such as Syracuse, Kansas State, and Michigan State and just barely losing in the finals to Duke. After this incredible run people across America were able to relate Butler with Basketball increasing applications and the student body. 

Now, next time a “random” school beats your favorite team in the first round of the tournament, shattering your hopes of achieving a perfect bracket or winning your elimination pool, you don’t have to get mad, but instead enjoy the fact that this win put a small school on the map.