Big Dollars Likely to Lead to Bigger NCAA Tournament
CNNChris IsodoreMarch 18, 2010 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)
Who's going to win this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament? Your guess is as good as ours. Probably better, actually.
But here's one March Madness guarantee you can count on: the wildly popular tournament is going to generate tons of cash for the NCAA. And that's why an expanded tournament is likely, possibly as soon as next year. The 65-team tournament will bring in roughly $650 million for the NCAA this year -- with the vast majority of that coming from broadcast rights payments from CBS.
That money basically funds the entire operation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and is the financial lifeblood of many smaller schools' athletic departments.
The big schools get most of that money. And more often than not, the more profitable programs make it to the Final Four over so-called Cinderellas. But profits aren't a guarantee of success. There are plenty of big money schools not in this year's tournament.
Big dollar schools staying home. North Carolina, last year's champion, finished second to only Louisville in terms of revenue and profits for its basketball program last year according to figures filed with the Department of Education. It didn't make the tournament this year though.
Neither did three other schools in the top 10 in basketball revenue -- Illinois, Indiana and Arkansas. Still, those teams are certain to get more cash from this year's tournament than smaller schools that made it to The Big Dance.
About $167 million of the proceeds from the tournament is split among all the NCAA conferences based on the number of games each conference's teams played in over the last six years. That money is then typically divided evenly between members of the conference.
So North Carolina and their hated rival Duke will both see the same payday from the tournament, even if No. 1 seed Duke is the one cutting down the nets on April 5.
And because the payments are based on a six-year period, even if a Cinderella team from a smaller conference does well this year, that won't significantly increase the payout for smaller schools.
More teams mean more dollars. That's why it's very likely, if not certain, that this is the last year only 65 teams will be invited to the tournament.
There's too much potential for a lot more money if the tournament is expanded -- and too many smaller schools need more of the big money.
The most discussed expansion scenario is to have a field of 96 teams. The teams ranked 1-32, which are primarily the big-dollar schools from the six major conferences, would wait while teams ranked 33 through 96 would play each other for the right to challenge the Goliaths.
The extra games would be shown on cable and on the Internet, which are the two fastest growing sources of new rights money for sports broadcasts.
The NCAA is expected to opt out of the last three years of an 11-year, $6 billion deal with CBS after this year's tournament and seek a new long-term broadcast and Internet rights deal.
With more games to air in the week before the round of 64 begins, there is the likelihood of a much bigger payday, said Neal Pilson, a sports television consultant.
"I personally am not that excited about extending the tournament to 96 teams," he said. "But it likely will result in more money for the colleges. The NCAA has a fiduciary responsibility to at least find out what a new deal would be worth."
Pilson thinks Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500), with its combination of ABC and ESPN might be the front runner in the bidding for the NCAA. But he thinks CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) will fight hard to retain it, even if it means teaming with a cable network operator to make the bid. There are reports CBS is looking at a joint bid with Turner Sports, which like CNNMoney is a unit of Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500).
Big win for the little guys. Who will benefit most from the additional dollars a new deal could bring? Surprisingly enough, the smaller schools.
In the current 65-team tournament, about half of the teams are from the six major conferences. But if you look at the RPI rankings of schools this year, a ranking that is widely considered to be what the tournament selection committee relies heavily upon, nearly two-thirds of the teams that could be added to a bigger tournament might come from the smaller conferences.
And since those schools would not have to play a top-ranked team in the first round, they would stand a much better chance to win at least one game. That would only help their programs and increase their future payouts.
Those small schools are far more dependent on the NCAA money than the major conference schools, which typically have their own TV deals and huge arenas.
Yes, far more of the tournament money flows to the Big East (about $27.5 million) than to the lowly Big West (about $4 million). But the Big East schools average revenue of $8.5 million and a profit of nearly $3 million annually.
By contrast, the Big West schools average just over $1 million in revenue and typically lose $80,000 each on basketball. Who do you think needs the extra money more?
So if you're struggling to fill out a 96-team bracket this time next year, you can blame the unusual combination of big money schools and the Cinderella teams.
1.Why would the NCAA want to expand the tournament from 65 to 96 teams?
2. Do you think this would be a good or bad idea? Why?
3. By allowing more teams to participate, does the tournament become more or less competitive? Why?
4. Who do you think would benefit the most from the possible change?
5. Do you think the money made through the tournament should go directly to schools or to their conferences and divided evenly? Why?
41 comments:
1. Putting more teams into the tournament would bring in more money for the NCAA.
2. I think this would be a good idea not only that it brings in more money, but also fans get to see more of thier favortite teams compete.
3. The tournament would become less competitive because it would force the tournament to have more not so good teams and would lower the challenge for upsets.
4. The fans would benefit the most from the change because there would be more games to watch, and there is more fan favorites in the tournament.
5. I think the money should go directly to the schools because they would need the money because they spent a lot of money on scholorships to get those players.
1. They want more money. With more teams they get more money.
2. It's good for the economy, but I don't think it is good for the schools. By addign more schools you are allowing teams of lesser talent into the tournament.
3. It will become less competitive because there are more teams of a lower calibure in the tournament.
4. I think the NCAA would benefit the most from a tournament expansion.
5. I think the money should go directly to the schools because they earned it by playing hard to make the big dance.
1.To possibly bring in more revenue and to let competition flourish.
2.If the ncaa can handle all these teams then i think its is good b/c it is more competion and it will possibly bring in more $.
3.more competitive B/C : more teams___MORe competition
4.im not sure what would happen but i think it should be divided evenly or maybe more given to the schools b/c the schools are actually getting and producing, making better.. these student athletes that everyone enjoys watching.
1)The NCAA want to expand the tournemant from 65 to 96 teams because it will create more competition.
2)This is a good
3)By allowing more teams to participate the tournament become more competitve because their is more talent.
4)The people who I think will beneifit thte most would be the NCAA schools.
5)I think the money made should go to schools and be dividly evenly.
1. The NCAA would want to expand the tournament from 65 to 96 teams because that will make them more money on tickets and meadia coverage.
2. I think this would be a good idea because there would be more fans and they would make much more money.
3. The tournament would become more competitive because there would be more teams therefore a longer and harder season.
4. I think the teams and the concessions people would benefit most from the possible change.
5. I think they should go to their conferences and divided evenly because each school deserves a fair share.
1. If the NCAA expanded to 96 teams, more money would go to more colleges and continue to support the NCAA.
2. I think this would be a bad idea. If the tournament was expanded to 96 teams, the hype of March Madness would lower and the profit would probably stay the same, which means that each college would actually get less money.
3. The tournament would become less competitive, 1 seeds would play 24 seeds, which would be very unmatched and unpopular
4. Only the colleges that are bad at basketball and never make it to the 64 team tournament would beneift, and those colleges don't really bring in money to the NCAA anyway
5. No. If a team just barely made it to a tournament and got clobbered in the first round, they shouldn't get the same as a team the fought hard and made it to the final four
1. Because having more clubs in the tournament means it would go on longer and more revenue comes in to the NCAA.
2. Good idea because more clubs would have an opportunity to be in and there would be more of an opportunity to bring in cash
3. It become less competitive because teams might have a false sense of securcity and not try as hard during their regular seasons.
4. The NCAA probably would
5. It should be divided in half because in order to have the competitive conferences you need the schools to participate
1. More teams means more money that will come in.
2. I think this will be a good idea becuase it would bring in more money and I like to watch basketball so I would benifit.
3. The tournement itself will become more compeditive becuase teams would have to play more games to win.
4. The money that the NCAA makes.
5. The conferences because if it went to the teams you would have some teams that become rich.
1. to make more money on tickets and media coverage.
2. i think it is a good idea because then the NCAA will get more money and it will make the road to the champion ship even harder.
3. i think it will be more competitive especially at the end because the teams have worked so hard to get their so their not gonna wanna just get blown out.
4.The NCAA will benefit the most because they wil be getting media and more tickets for the games.
5. conferences because they will divid it better.
1. To up the amount of fans. More teams=more fans
2. I guess it’s a good idea. They might make more money.
3. More. More people to fight.
4. Those teams who sometimes don’t make it in these tournaments
5. Schools. It will up the competition between schools.
1. More variety and oppurtunity for profits.
2. Good because it will bring more fans to one area.
3. Depending on the teams skill level compared to other teams in the tournamnet
4. Everybody ibnvolved in this experience
5.conference because it give a more equal balance of where the money is going and what its being spent on. Theres more structure.
1. They would want to expand the NCAA tournament from 65 teams to 96 teams to bring more popularity to the NCAA, also they can make more money if people go to see more teams.
2. This would be a good idea becasue people whos favorite team is in the NCAA there will be more people to go to the NCAA, and they will get more money due to the fact there will be more people.
3. This becomes more competitive becasue they have more time to play and more opportunities to win.
4. I think the players and the fans would benefit more becasue this gives the players more of an opportunity to win and it gives the fans an opportunity to support their favorite teams.
5. I think the money that they earn should go to their schools and their cnferences so that they can have some money to go to their school as well as some money going to support the conference.
1.Why would the NCAA want to expand the tournament from 65 to 96 teams?
to get more publicity for the NCAA.
2. Do you think this would be a good or bad idea? Why?
I think this would be a good idea for the NCAA because it would get the tournament more recognized througout the country.
3. By allowing more teams to participate, does the tournament become more or less competitive? Why?
The tournament becomes more competative because of the amount of skill you have to beat overall.
4. Who do you think would benefit the most from the possible change?
I think that the schools that are new to the tournament would benefit the most by have the access to the tournament.
5. Do you think the money made through the tournament should go directly to schools or to their conferences and divided evenly? Why?
I think that the money made should go to the schools because even though some schools were not as good as others, they still participated and should get recognized for that. The money earned from the tournament should go towards the money used for the games in the conference to make them more family friendly with better venders and better supplies (basketballs used, and or refs.)
1. Expanding the tournament from 65 to 96 teams brings in the potential for a lot more money, and smaller schools will get more money.
2. I think this is a good idea because it will bring in a lot money for NCAA, plus there will be a chance for more schools to compete and get money.
3. It will be more competitive because some of the cinderella teams might come out on top over the bigger schools, which might be an uproar
4. Smaller schools will benefit the most from the possible change.
5. It should go to the schools because some of the conferences are mixed and usually the bigger schools have to get more money than the smaller schools.
1) This gives more teams the opportunity to prove themselves in the biggest tournament and lets the NCAA make more money.
2) It's a bad idea because the best teams are still going to win and adding more teams is just going to waste time.
3) It becomes more competitive because more teams are trying to prove themselves as a top program and the top ranked teams have to compete with lower ranked teams who want to beat them.
4) The smaller conferences who don't get so many teams into the tournament.
5) It should go to the conference and should be divided evenly so no one team gets too good.
1. They want to expand the team to 96 teams to bring in more revenue.
2. This would be a bad idea because it would increase the time it takes to finish the tournament.
3. This would increase the competition.
4. more of the smaller teams and the not as good teams would be in the tournament and would then benefit from the changes.
5. I think the money made from the tournament should be given directly to the school because they earned it.
1. If they expanded the field of teams they would generate more revenue from the tourbament.
2. I think it would be bad idea because there would be to many teams and would take away some of the prestige.
3. It becomes more competitve but less entertaining to watch.
4. The schools that are usually shut out because they are small would benefiit because they would have a chance.
5. I think the school should keep a large majority of it but also a small bit should be given to the conference. Because the team earned it but they should also help their conference.
1. it gives more teens the opportunity to win games and the n ncaa to make mroe money.
2. yeah then the ncaa can majke mroe money
3. yes the lower rank teams will try harder to beat the higher rank teams
4.the lower rank teams
5. i think their conference so they can get more money and pay for tournaments to go play to.
1. 96 Teams allows more room for profit on tickets, concessions, and other merchandise. This in turn give more money to the ncaa.
2. Bad idea, it makes the opening rounds of the tournament less exciting to watch.
3. Less, there are more bad teams let into the tournament.
4. The schools, schools normally not invited to the tournament can get bids.
5. Yes, the NCAA can't take all the profits, some of the money has to go back to the schools that compete in the tournament.
1. To get more viewers.
2. I think it would be a bad idea becasue it would be easier to get into the tournament.
3. Less competitive becasue there are more teams.
4. The teams who make it to the NIT but not the NCAA normally.
5. To the schools because they earned their place in the tournament.
1. The NCAA would want to expand the tournament from 65 to 96 teams because it can have more money involved and possibly more stadiums will want to hold more games.
2. I think it's a good idea because if a team is 23-9 and another team is 19-10 and they make the tournament and the other team doesn't then the team that doesn't make it will be in the tournament.
3. It becomes more competitive because it shows that the last amount of teams would really want a shot in the NCAA tournament.
4. The stadiums will be involved the most because the NCAA will pay more stadiums to hold the games and there is more money that is used to hold the games.
5. I think it would go through both because they are both making the money.
1. So they could bring in more money. More teams = more money.
2. I dont think it would because the NCAA is for the best teams and if they expand it, then teams that dont really deserve to be there will get in.
3. Less because all the teams wont be so good.
4. The NCAA would benefit because they would be getting millions of more dollars.
5. I think it should go to their conferences. If one team gets a ton of money just because they're popular, that isn't really fair. They should have to split it with their conference.
1. The NCAA would want to expand the tournament to 96 teams for many reasons. One is with more teams there is more recognition from schools and more stadiums and sponsors would pay money to help the tournament.
2. I think this would be good because more teams would have a chance to win and more stadiums would be involved so more people can get involved in this once a year event.
3. The tournament is more comptetitive because you have to win more games and more teams have the possiblity of winning the tournament.
4. I believe the fans and the stadiums would benefit the most. People from more schools would be involved and more stadiums would pay the NCAA to host one of the games.
5. I beieve some of the money should go to the schools and the conferences. Conferences pride themselves on having teams, but its the teams who get their. So both should get some money.
1.because it gives the show more money
2.good.because it gives the viewers what they want
3.more...because everyone is goin to want to win
4.me and other viewers
5.both
1.they would want to expand so more people can get involved and they can make more money.
2.This would be a good idea because the NCAA could expand and can get more press
3. It becomes less competitve because there is a wider range of different teams
4. The fans will benefit most because they will be able to watch almost every team who is decent
5. to their conferences, because who ever wins obvioulsly should get more money
1. If theres more teams then theres more money that is generated.
2. i think it would be a good idea, because it would generate more money for the NCAA
3. it becomes less competetive, because there are more teams, and there isnt a struggle to get into the tournament
4. i think that the NCAA would benefit the most from this change
5. Schools, because education is improtant.
1. so that it will make a bigger competition and give people a more wide varity of teams to be fans of
2.bad because i think it would be to many teams it would be hard to keep track and it will make alot more people not get ecepted to the nba
3. more because you want to be the best team of all so you compete your hardest
4. collage players
5. i think it should be divided evenly so noone is left out and only gets a little bit of money
1. To make more money from the broadcasting rights.
2. No it is a bad idea. It will make the tournament way to long.
3. Less, because it takes forever.
4. The NCAA.
5. It should be divided evenly so other schools can improve.
1) the NCAA would want to expand the tournament from 65 to 96 teams in order to earn more money.
2)I think it is a good idea because then all the schools get more money.
3) The tournament would become less competitive because it would be easier to make the tournament.
4)The smaller, less known schools and conferences would benefit the most.
5)I believe it should go to their conferences because then the conference improves and makes all the schools better.
1. there is potnential for more money with more teams in the tournament
2. I think it would be a good idea to expand the tournament so that the NCAA will make more money
3. The tournament will become more competitive because the more teams playing means more talent and more teams that you have to beat
4. The smaller schools that would not normaly have a chance to participate in the NCAA tournament
5. I think it should go directly to the schools so that the schools
that make it the farthest in the tournament will make the most money
1. So they can get more press
2.this would be a good idea because it allows more fans to come and make more money
3. It becomes less competitive since there is such a wide range of teams
4. The NCAA would benefit because they are the ones making the money
5. I think the conference who winsshould get the most money and everything else be divided evenly
1.) If they have more games, they will take in more money.
2.) Bad, it would not be that difficult.
3.) Less competitive because there are more spots for teams to get in.
4.) The people receiving the revenue.
5.) Divided evenly because that is fair.
1) This makes it so that there are more games, more championships, more fans, and most importantly, more money.
2) I think it's a mix of both because this means more jobs invested in a prototype system,
4) The managers of the NCAA because the money would flow in.
3) More competitive because there are more people the teams have to face.
5) A little mix of both for compromise between the schools and the league.
1. more games therefor more revenue for the teams
2. bad, it wouldnt be that hard to make the tournament so it wouldnt be as much of a big deal
3. more, each team has to win more to win teh tounrmaent
4. Teams and customers of the teams and the owners, more revenue, customers get to watch more games, teams get to paly more
5. Yes, its college sports which means the palyers dont get paid and there no need for more opverpaid coaches running around
1. Because of all the revenue that they get from the games, they think that if they have more games in the tournament, they will generate more revenue.
2. It might be a good idea because it allows the ncaa to get more money for colleges.
3. It will become less competitive because the point of the tournament is that not all of the teams make it, and it makes it so that the best teams will be there, but if there is more slots, than it will become less of a challenge for the teams to make it.
4. The stadiums that host the games, because if there is more games, than the places that they play at will get more money from more games where people buy tickets.
5. The conferences, because the schools get enough money from kids paying tuition, so the conferences should get the money to be able to have more publicity and better playing conditions.
1.To Build A bigger fanbase
2.Yes it would make more money
3.More Competitve beacause of underdogs
4.The NCAA as a whole
5.Divided evenly
1. the extra teams would generate more money.
2. it is a great idea, fans can enjoy more games.
3. it becomes more competitive
4. the broadcasting businesses
5. the money should go directly to the schools. they earned the money
1. The more teams at the tournament bring in more money and would bring more competition for the lower teams.
2. I think it would be a good idea because it would bring in more media and be open up to more teams allowing an increase in money and oppurtunites.
3. I believe it becomes more competitive because the lower teams have other lower teams to challenge and the higher teams have more challenges.
4. I think the teams that would benefit most are the lower teams because they have more a chance to win and be succesful.
5. I think the money should be evenly divided between the schools because they are the ones working and brining in the money.
1. 96 teams would bring more money.
2. I think it could be a good idea because that gets more colleges involved and more people willing to spend money to watch the game.
3.I think that it becomes a little less competitive but you would stil have to qualify for the tournament.
4. I think that fans, the colleges, and the actual NCAA would benefit the most. The fans would enjoy supporting their team in a big tournament, the colleges because the have a chance to compete and the NCAA because they would gain money.
5.I think the money should go to the conferences because all the teams are brining in all of the fans and money.
1. To increase the number of viewers, which in turn increases revenue.
2. I don't think it would be a good idea, because there would be so many games that people would lose interest.
3. It becomes more competitive, because with more teams, there will be more teams to beat.
4. I think the TV stations and the coaches and schools that are in the tournament.
5. I think it should be distributed evenely among the conference.
1. The NCAA would only want to expand the tournament to make more money.
2. I think it would be a bad idea because the 65 team is tradition and if you changed it to 96 the tournament would be too crowded.
3. With more teams competing i think that the tournament will get a little more competitive but not much because the same big name schools will always make it far into the tournament.
4. Small schools would benefit most from the change because the more money that is generated is sent to them.
5. I think that the money should be divided evenly among the teams that play the best and how much they need the money.
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