Monday, January 20, 2014

An Invite to "The Big Dance" - What's it Worth?




"The Bucking Bronco"



"MARCH MADNESS" - An enthralling, intoxicating, and addicting cache for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.  TRUST ME, when you see the payouts, you will need a trip to rehab...

In 2012-2013, the NCAA distributed $484,000,000 to Division 1 conferences and its member schools.
That's NOT a typo - $484 MILLION...The Conferences usually decide how much each school receives each year.

Another amazing factoid, a University doesn't even have to play in the event to get paid!!! Everybody shares the pie - although, if you are a qualifier - you usually receive more money from your conference, since you earned it in the first place.

The money is distributed via 6 different funds.  Below are the 5 largest.

The Funds Breakdown  
Basketball Fund:  $188 M
Academic Enhancement:  $24.4 M
Grants-in-Aid:  $125.5 M
Student Assistance:  $73.5 M
Sports Sponsorship:  $62.8 M

All this money is used to help member conferences and schools build better athletic and support programs, which in turn fosters better competitions, and YOU GUESSED IT - make the NCAA Tournament, the holy grail of collegiate sports.

WILD, isn't it?  In truth - MADNESS...

It gets better...

An invitation in 2013-2014 is expected to be worth $260,000 - per game..  Win 4 games and get to the Final 4 - do the math..

The payouts occur each year on a rolling 6 year cycle.  Amounts are added each year to create a quasi annuity for conferences and schools.

As an example, Marquette University, similar in size to SCU, is the 9th "most valuable" program in terms of NCAA payout "units" generating between $18-20 Million for their conference over the next 6 years from the basketball fund.  Butler, # 11, half the size of SCU, will generate $16-18 Million.

Sandwiched in between those schools in the rankings is some team named - Kentucky...

As a result of Gonzaga's 14 year NCAA run and St Mary's recent success, the WCC received about $10 M last year from the above mentioned funds.  Both teams have been justly rewarded.  Gonzaga reported receiving over $800,000 from just the Basketball Fund.  To put it in perspective, that payout alone is 2.9 times more than the SCU's Men's Basketball estimated total annual operating budget.  Add on top the national PR exposure and media contracts, and the impact can be BIG - maybe a game changer.

Our last trip to the "dance" - 17 years ago - a Nash led team.

I don't know about you, but if the last time I danced with my wife was 17 years ago - well that would be another type of game changer.....

I hope the SCU Board of Trustees likes to "dance".  I hope the Commission Report will be compelling and result in an immediate call to action - not the usual "in 5 years" we hope to....

Season Ticket Holders and Boosters want a "surge" - we're tired of being wall flowers....













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