Coming down with March Madness before the Big Dance may sound like an excuse to skip prom, but it actually describes our nationwide obsession with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. This 68-team basketball bonanza has been known to crown a Cinderella or two, produce at least one shining moment a year, and turn millions of Americans into illegal gamblers. It’s that good.
It’s also a big business both on and off the court, making millionaires out of coaches, conference commissioners and NCAA executives but very few players. Tournament time takes a toll on fans’ wallets, too, and not just in terms of the millions we lose in bracket pools each year. The starting retail price for a ticket to one of the 2022 Final Four games costs around $132, for one thing. Around 19 percent more beer is sold to keep up with cheering fans, too. Plus, there’s the potential for some workplace conflict, since distracted employees cost businesses about $13.8 billion per year.
In other words, there’s a lot more to this tournament than basketball. And since money plays at least as much of a role as love of the game, WalletHub analyzed March Madness from tip to title with a special emphasis on finance. You can check out all the interesting NCAA tournament stats and facts that we found in the infographic below. We also hosted a Q&A with a panel of sports business experts on topics ranging from college basketball’s economics to which team will cut down the nets in Indianapolis. Enjoy the show!
Top 10 March Madness Stats & Facts:
- $13.8 Billion: Corporate losses due to unproductive workers during March Madness.
- $1.16 Billion: Annual revenue for the NCAA in 2021, more than double the amount earned in 2020 and topping pre-pandemic revenues ($1.12 Billion).
- $8.1 Million: Salary for college basketball’s highest paid coach, Kentucky’s John Calipari (vs. $1.2M combined for University of Kentucky’s president and the state’s governor).
- 46X: Difference between the average NBA rookie’s salary ($3.3M) and a D1 men’s athlete basketball scholarship for a year ($71.4K).
- $10 Billion: Estimated amount wagered on the 2022 NCAA tournament (roughly 30% more than the amount wagered on Super Bowl).
- $200 Million: Estimated economic impact on New Orleans from March Madness 2022.
- $334.2 Million: Estimated value of the University of Kentucky basketball program — highest among all schools (generating a 3-year average profit of $29.7M)
- $169.4 Million: NCAA’s basketball fund’s 2022 distribution to D1 schools.
- $0: Amount of money the NCAA pays the players participating in the tournament.
- 73,432: Caesars Superdome Stadium’s capacity for Final Four 2022 (full capacity).
Ask the Experts: March Madness Musings
March Madness is one of the most entertaining guessing games on the calendar, but we wanted to add some more-educated insights to the prognostication mix. So we posed the following questions to a panel of sports business experts. You can check out their bios and responses below.
- Who are your Final Four picks?
- In your opinion, is hosting March Madness 2022 an opportunity or a challenge for New Orleans?
- How do you characterize the NCAA tournament’s economic impact on its host cities?
- Where do you stand on the issue of paying college athletes?
- What are the biggest issues facing the NCAA today?
Ask the Experts
Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Hart School – James Madison University
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Ph.D. – Professor of Kinesiology Emeritus, Health and Physical Education Department – North Central College
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Assistant Professor, H. Phillip Conrad Chair, Ketner School of Business – Trine University
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Professor & Associate Chair, Department of Sport Management – Florida State University
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Professor, School of Business – Shenandoah University
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