I pulled these two paragraphs from an ESPN Myron Medcalf article. Article headline: What will the revenue impact of cancellations be on NCAA member schools and conferences? This is areminder on why/how the Mid-Majors get screwed, and what they are up against when it comes to their budgets vs Power5 conferences. It also reinforces to me how appreciative we should be for the recent large donations to Drake.
ARTICLE: After winning 13 games, the Big Ten earned 21 units, which warranted a $35 million payout. Overall, the Big Ten reportedly distributed $759 million to its member schools last year. The Big Ten and other Power 5 leagues won't take a substantial hit, if the cancellations mean the schools and leagues don't get paid under these unique circumstances, but the non-Power 5 schools could be dramatically affected by this.
Think about a league like the Missouri Valley Conference. In 2018, Loyola Chicago made $8.45 million (paid out over a six-year stretch) for its league (the units stop once a team reaches the Final Four). That's an average of $845,000 overall for each of the 10 schools in the Missouri Valley Conference. Take a school such as Illinois State. That $845,000 represents about 10% of Illinois State's $9 million budget for men's athletics, per Department of Education data. That money can change these programs.
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