March is a special time of the year. Not because of St. Patrick’s Day, although that definitely gives me something else to look forward to, but because it marks the most exciting time of the year in college sports, March Madness. March Madness is a single elimination basketball tournament that’s played from mid-March into early April to crown the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball champion. It’s a time when avid basketball fans, casual viewers, and people totally unfamiliar with the sport can come together and bond over the unpredictable nature of the tournament and the high stakes pressure of each game.Â
For some context, March Madness consists of four regions with sixteen teams each ranked from one to sixteen, with an additional 4 teams in the “first four” round, totaling out to 68 teams. Through several rounds, teams are slowly eliminated resulting in one champion. One of March Madness’s biggest draws is the upsets and Cinderella stories that occur each year. A Cinderella Story refers to a low seeded team that makes an unexpectedly far run in the tournament, defeating higher seeded teams along the way. Recently and most notably was Saint Peters run in 2022 where they became the first ever number fifteen seed to reach the Elite Eight. I remember watching in awe as they sent two seeded University of Kentucky home, marking their first ever win in an NCAA tournament game.Â
Typically, these Cinderella stories occur when mid-major programs with experienced players play freshmen heavy powerhouse programs. This past year, there were only eight upsets which is low when compared to the fourteen upsets that occurred in 2022. Some college basketball fans, myself included, wonder if this could be attributed to the impact of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals on college sports.Â
In 2021, a Supreme Court decision ruled that college athletes are allowed to profit from their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), leading to significant financial opportunities at schools with large donor bases. Now that wealthier schools can recruit experienced players through lucrative NIL deals, mid-major programs are struggling to recruit and retain players, making it harder for them to compete against powerhouse programs.
While it may sound like NIL deals are negatively impacting the game, the issue isn’t as black and white as you’d think. College athletes dedicate countless hours to their sport yet their NIL is often used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in various media forms without any compensation for athletes. Supporters believe that athletes are finally earning their long-overdue compensation, while opponents of NIL deals, typically mid-major program coaches, argue that it’s affecting the way players are developed. Instead of developing players to fit the program’s needs and dynamic, players are essentially being developed to transfer. Many players who have breakout seasons enter the transfer portal and join powerhouse programs that lure them in with enticing NIL deals. Additionally, historic programs are also benefiting from the new NIL rules. Top programs like Duke have lost strong players to the NBA draft after just one season, however with NIL deals, programs can encourage top players to stay, creating a more experienced team with less turn over.
For me, the underdog storylines of March Madness are what initially sparked my interest in the tournament. I eagerly watched each game, rooting for the underdog and feeling immense pride for schools I had no connection with, all because they beat a higher seeded team against all odds. While the tournament is now over, I still find myself thinking about Maryland’s buzzer beater ticket to the sweet 16, the Arkansas and St Joe’s upset, and a championship game that had me on the edge of my seat. Sure, there weren’t as many upsets as past years, however this tournament was still far from boring. As NIL deals continue to expand and impact the college basketball landscape, I’m already looking forward to next year’s tournaments and seeing how mid-major programs respond to the ever growing effects of NIL deals.