Here’s What a March Madness Run Is Worth

The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the sports calendar in 2020, forcing sports leagues to cancel and delay events for safety reasons. The first major sports event ruined by 2020 was the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. In hindsight, the cancellation of one of the biggest events of the year — March Madness — gave hints of how truly mad the entire year would be.

See: 8 Momentous Times Sports Were Canceled Throughout History

Although professional sports leagues were able to restart their competitions later in the year, the NCAA opted to not attempt a modified men’s basketball tourney. That decision caused a huge financial hit to the schools that would have participated, as the NCAA earns close to $1 billion from the tournament each year, which is roughly 75% of its overall revenue.

To determine how much each conference lost by missing out on the 2020 season (and what could be at stake again if the 2021 tourney has to be canceled), GOBankingRates looked at what each conference earned in 2019 and what that amount would have been in 2020. Each game appearance (considered a “unit”) earned $280,300 per school in 2019 and would have earned $282,100 in 2020.

Read on for a conference-by-conference look at how lucrative the NCAA tournament can be.

Last updated: Dec. 4, 2020