March Madness commences this week as both the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments take center stage. Yale has made the men's field for the fourth time in the last decade. Sacred Heart University and Fairfield University are both making their second appearances in the last three seasons in the women's tourney. The University of 海角换妻 has made them both for the fourth consecutive year.
With 16 national championships, UConn women鈥檚 and men鈥檚 basketball programs have perennially been not just the best in the state, but also among the best in America. The UConn men are the defending national champions, and the two programs have won a total of five championships in the last decade.
But said the next decade could be much tougher for both programs, now that boosters are allowed to pay players to play for their favorite schools. Zimbalist said there are many wealthier schools that can pay more for the talent UConn wants.
鈥淥ne of the major reasons for that is the introduction of 鈥� name, image and likeness 鈥� payments that are going to athletes and the formation of collectives, which are booster groups that pretend to be paying the athletes money for their property rights or the publicity rights,鈥� Zimbalist said. 鈥淏ut what's really happening is they're getting paid money for their ability to generate victories on the field or on the basketball court.鈥�
鈥淐oaches are going to be able to go to the best players in the country and offer them big time NIL money 鈥� could be $1 million; could be more. UCONN simply doesn't have the ability to reach out to its donors and to its alums, like some of the Power Four schools do, and, as such, it's going to be harder and harder for them to attract the top basketball stars, both on the men's and women's side.鈥�
鈥淧ower Four鈥� schools are universities that belong to the four richest athletic conferences in America: The Big Ten, The Big 12, The Southeastern Conference (SEC), and The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). This used to be known as But, starting in 2024, 10 of the Pac 12 schools will join one of the other power conferences. What all 67 schools in the Power Four have, that UConn does not, is a revenue-generating football program.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 (football) the big money maker in college sports,鈥� Zimbalist said. 鈥淚n the case of UConn, without a conference affiliation, they're at a big disadvantage.鈥�
鈥淚 think for the rights to broadcast their football games this past year. Compare that to what a Big Ten school gets,鈥� he said.
In 2023, The Big Ten signed broadcast rights deals that will funnel $80 to $100 million to member schools during each year of the deal. 鈥淯Conn is at a very large disadvantage, and it's one of the reasons why the ," he said.
While UConn鈥檚 NCAA men鈥檚 basketball tournament appearance won鈥檛 erase the athletic department鈥檚 debts, Zimbalist said it should put some money in the coffers.
UConn is in the Big East Conference, and each of the Big East Conference鈥檚 11 schools this year will get just north of for putting three teams in the NCAA tournament. any men鈥檚 team plays in the tournament is worth an additional $2 million to that team鈥檚 conference per year for six years. Each $2 million payment is split evenly among the 11 Big East teams. And winning a second consecutive national championship could positively impact UConn鈥檚 bottom line in other ways.
鈥淭hat presumably provides some good PR for the school,鈥� Zimbalist said. 鈥淚t presumably leads to some additional applications and makes it less likely that they're going to have empty beds in the dormitories during the year and probably makes it somewhat more likely that UConn graduates will donate money, either directly to the athletics department or to the school in general.鈥�
As for the other men鈥檚 basketball teams in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Yale has already brought in $2 million to the Ivy-League for making the tournament. And, just like UConn and the other schools, the Bulldogs will bring in $2 million more for every additional game they play up to the Final Four.
鈥淭he-Ivy-League, of course, has eight schools and not eleven, so it's divided amongst the smaller number of schools.鈥� Zimbalist said.
However, Zimbalist said Yale probably needs their share of that money less than any other school in the tournament. is second in America only to Harvard.
Unlike the two 海角换妻 men鈥檚 basketball programs in the NCAA Tournament, Zimbalist said none of the three women鈥檚 programs, including Geno Auriemma鈥檚 powerful UConn squad, will be bringing any windfall to their respective universities.
鈥�, but the amount that the women will be allocated will be substantially less,鈥� Zimbalist said.
鈥淭he women's game can generate an enormous amount of interest and has enormous popularity. But the NCAA has been retrograde, and they've just stuck to the traditional male custom of rewarding the male sports heroes and not the female sports heroes.鈥�
