Fansided

ACC nabs highest NCAA March Madness payout among all conferences

By Derek Helling

GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 03: The North Carolina Tar Heels mascot celebrates in the confetti after defeatin ghte Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Tar Heels defeated the Bulldogs 71-65. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 03: The North Carolina Tar Heels mascot celebrates in the confetti after defeatin ghte Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Tar Heels defeated the Bulldogs 71-65. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The ACC not only enjoyed another NCAA men’s basketball title being added to its history, but will make more than any other conference off of March Madness in 2017.

Getting a team all the way to the national championship game is not only good for a conference’s reputation, but bottom line as well. That’s because the NCAA March Madness payout funds are set up to reward conferences for every time one of their teams appear in a game during the tournament.

Each time one of a conference’s teams appear in a game, that counts as a “game unit” in the NCAA’s formula. It makes no difference whether the team loses or wins the game. Only the appearance in the game matters.

The ACC led all conferences with 19 game units in 2017, matching their leading total from 2016. The SEC was second with 16, followed by the Big 10 and Big East with 15. The Big 12 was next with 14, then the Pac-12 with 11.

The West Coast Conference recorded six game units. The A-10 Conference got four game units. The American and the WAC each got three. Conference USA and the Missouri Valley Conference both recorded two game units each. All other qualifying conferences received a single game unit.

How much a game unit is worth this year and beyond

March Madness payout funds are distributed on a six-year rolling basis, with the amount of the payments increasing each year. In 2016, that figure was $265,791. The figure has grown by about two percent each season. Projecting this year’s figure with that trend, this year’s payment is an estimated $271,107.

Projecting the payments through 2022 at the same rate of growth, the value of a 2017 game unit for a conference is $1.71 million. With that figure, the amount that each conference will make from this year’s game units can be estimated.

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Because of its 19 game units, the ACC will reap $32.49 million over the next six years. The SEC will haul in $27.36 million. Both the Big 10 and Big East will have $25.65 million to disperse. The Big 12 should expect to get $23.94 million and the Pac-12 $18.81 million.

Gonzaga’s trip to the national championship game will bring $10.26 million to the West Coast Conference. The A-10 will take in $6.84 million. The American and WAC will both enjoy an extra $5.13 million. Conference USA and the Missouri Valley will be $3.42 million richer.

The NCAA doesn’t regulate how conferences dispense these funds between their member schools. Most conferences disperse the funds evenly between all their members, even those schools which didn’t qualify for the NCAA tournament.

It remains to be seen if the ACC will lead in game units for a third consecutive year in 2018, but the over $60 million in March Madness payout money that it has earned over the last two years should help.

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