What FAU's surreal journey to the Final Four means for the university | D'Angelo
Everything about the journey taken by Florida Atlantic University's men's basketball program the last week has been surreal.
Advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Playing in one of the most iconic venues in the world, Madison Square Garden. Showing more poise in the final minutes than brand-name schools Tennessee and Kansas State. Being featured on the back page of the New York tabloids.
Of course, advancing to the Final Four.
FAU is located in Boca Raton, a city best known for its influx of New Yorkers and a fictional retirement village, 'Del Boca Vista,' from the television show "Seinfeld." Now, the university's men's basketball team is one of four remaining in March Madness, the biggest and most recognizable event on the college sports calendar.
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A program that had played in March Madness one time (2002) and had never won a game in the tournament is one of four remaining in the original field of 68 teams.
The Owls will play San Diego State Saturday in the national semifinal in Houston followed by Miami and Connecticut. The winners advance to Monday's championship game.
Just the thought of FAU playing on this stage is unimaginable on so many levels.
FAU is considered a mid-major, meaning it comes from a conference that is one of the little brothers to the Power 5 leagues such as the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference. A mid-major team in the Final Four is rare, the most notable in recent years being Loyola in 2018.
The Owls were a moribund program before head coach Dusty May left his job as an assistant coach at the University of Florida in 2018 to take over as head coach. In its 25-year history in Division 1 prior to May's arrival, FAU cycled through seven head coaches and recorded five winning seasons.
May has equaled that number of winning seasons in his first five years. And his 35 wins this season are four fewer than FAU's total wins the four years prior to May's arrival.
"These guys ... for five years I've been a head coach I've never felt for one minute I didn't have a group that was trying to help and support and make me better than what I am," May said. "And that's kind of how our guys are. Their teammates make them better than what they are. We've done it together."
Now, FAU is the ultimate underdog, as big as any team to make the Final Four.
The Owls, the first team since Virginia in 2018 to win 35 games, were a 500-to-1 longshot to win the national championship at some sportsbooks at the start of the season. They are two wins away from making someone a lot of money. WynnBet said it took one bet on FAU, $10 at 500-to-1.
If FAU does pull it off, it would be the biggest longshot to win the NCAA Tournament since seeding began in 1979.
More than 20 million filled out brackets in ESPN's Men's Tournament Challenge and .07 percent had FAU in the Final Four.
The benefits of a school like FAU playing in the Final Four are enormous. From credibility to exposure, this run, and especially this week, will be the biggest boon in the school's history.
Athletic Director Brian White said the school in January received the equivalent of $250 million in advertisement exposure. That was when the Owls were in the midst of a 20-game winning streak.
With every major network and outlet talking about FAU this week, every analyst with a take on how David was able to slay two Goliath's (Tennessee and Kansas State) in the Sweet 16 in New York, that number, will be "astronomical" when the latest figures are known.
March Madness money
March Madness is the NCAA's biggest money maker. The organization earned $1.14 billion in revenues in 2022, with about $1 billion coming from the tournament that runs for 21 days.
Much of that money goes to the institutions; even those that did not qualify for the tournament receive a check. But it increases incrementally for the schools that keep advancing.
For FAU, San Diego State, Miami and Connecticut, this year's Final Four share will be more than $8 million each. But those checks, paid over the next six years, go into the conference coffers, who then distribute it to their members. Those responsible for the windfall receive a bigger share.
For FAU, that means it is making a lot of money for a conference it is leaving.
The Owls were caught up in conference realignment and are leaving Conference USA for the American Athletic Conference at the end of this school year. A step up and major boost for a program that started in the Trans America Athletic Conference, which was rebranded the Atlantic Sun.
"The conference will benefit," White said. "But we'll benefit a whole lot more for the brand equity for years to come (for making the Final Four)."
That is true for every school, but especially those like FAU whose brand pales in comparison to basketball blue bloods such as Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina or any of the other elite programs that have played in multiple Final Fours.
Take Loyola, a Jesuit Catholic university in Chicago. During its Final Four run, the school's web traffic was 400 percent higher than the previous year. The run on merchandise was so great the university opened a pop-up shop just off of busy Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
And according to Forbes, schools that played in the Final Four from 2009 to 2015 received a 10.9 percent boost in applicants the next year. The increase for those seeded No. 5 and below was greatest at 11.9 percent.
FAU is a No. 9 seed. The Owls are just the second 9 seed to make the Final Four and the lowest seeded team among the four remaining, with Miami and San Diego State the closest as 5 seeds.
In it's 79-76 victory over Kansas State in the East Regional final on Saturday, the Owls became the first ninth-seeded team to beat a No. 3-seed since the NCAA Tournament started seeding teams in 1979.
Not just about football
Previously, FAU's greatest exposure had come from a football program that had instant-name recognition because of the man who was the architect and first coach, Howard Schnellenberger. The program had some early success before a big dip and rebounding under another coach with a personal brand, Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin leading FAU to two Conference USA championships and two bowl games in his three years brought notoriety. None of it comes close to the spotlight that will shine on the university this week.
"FAU is known for being a football school," said forward Giancarlo Rosado of West Palm Beach. "Lane Kiffin won a couple of championships at FAU. Now Dusty May's winning championships at FAU."
"We've flipped the page and turned it into a basketbll school. I feel like this could be a dynasty."
Dynasty or not, a university completely off the radar when it comes to basketball will spend a week in college athletics' biggest spotlight.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU Owls' run to the Final Four a major boon to Boca Raton school
