By Last Updated on March 11, 2023
There is a mad amount of money to earn from the NCAA through March Madness.
In 2010-11, the NCAA distributed $478 million to conferences and member institutions. 40.5 percent of the revenue distributed by the NCAA was designated to something called the “Basketball Distribution Fund.” This distribution percentage makes the Basketball Distribution Fund the largest area to which the NCAA directs funds for revenue distribution.
According to the NCAA’s website, “The basketball fund provides for moneys to be distributed to Division I conferences based on their performance in the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship over a six-year rolling period.” For each March Madness game that a school participates in, except for the Championship game, the school’s respective conference earns a “unit.” Each unit is worth a designated dollar amount. According to the NCAA’s website, in 2010-11, each unit earned was worth approximately $239,664.00. Thus, the further a conference’s teams go into March, the more money that a conference can earn from the NCAA’s revenue distribution system. The NCAA suggests that conferences divide the payout they receive from the Basketball Distribution Fund equally amongst their member institutions.
As noted above, the Basketball Distribution Fund calls for revenues to be distributed based upon schools’ performances over six-year rolling periods. However, the tables below demonstrate how accumulating wins during the course of one March Madness run can earn conferences a sizable amount of the revenue distributed by the NCAA.
First, consider how many units were earned by the respective participants of the 2011 Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament:
| School | 2011 Units Earned | Conference |
| Akron | 1 | MAC |
| Arizona | 4 | Pac-12 |
| Belmont | 1 | Atlantic Sun |
| Boston | 1 | America East |
| Bucknell | 1 | Patriot League |
| Butler | 5 | Horizon League |
| BYU | 3 | WCC |
| Cincinnati | 2 | Big East |
| Clemson | 1 | ACC |
| Connecticut | 5 | Big East |
| Duke | 3 | ACC |
| Florida | 4 | SEC |
| Florida State | 3 | ACC |
| George Mason | 2 | Colonial |
| Georgetown | 1 | Big East |
| Georgia | 1 | SEC |
| Gonzaga | 2 | WCC |
| Hampton | 1 | Mid-Eastern |
| Illinois | 2 | Big Ten |
| Indiana State | 1 | Missouri Valley |
| Kansas | 4 | Big 12 |
| Kansas State | 2 | Big 12 |
| Kentucky | 5 | SEC |
| Long Island | 1 | Northeast |
| Louisville | 1 | Big East |
| Marquette | 3 | Big East |
| Memphis | 1 | Conference USA |
| Michigan | 2 | Big Ten |
| Michigan State | 1 | Big Ten |
| Missouri | 1 | Big 12 |
| Morehead State | 2 | Ohio Valley |
| NC-Asheville | 1 | Big South |
| North Carolina | 4 | ACC |
| Northern Colorado | 1 | Big Sky |
| Notre Dame | 2 | Big East |
| Oakland | 1 | Summit League |
| Ohio State | 3 | Big Ten |
| Old Dominion | 1 | Colonial |
| Penn State | 1 | Big Ten |
| Pittsburgh | 2 | Big East |
| Princeton | 1 | Ivy League |
| Purdue | 2 | Big Ten |
| Richmond | 3 | Atlantic 10 |
| San Diego State | 3 | Mountain West |
| St. John’s | 1 | Big East |
| St. Peter’s | 1 | MAAC |
| Syracuse | 2 | Big East |
| Temple | 2 | Atlantic 10 |
| Tennessee | 1 | SEC |
| Texas | 2 | Big 12 |
| Texas A&M | 1 | Big 12 |
| UCLA | 2 | Pac-12 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 1 | Big West |
| UNLV | 1 | Mountain West |
| UT San Antonio | 1 | Southland |
| Utah State | 1 | WAC |
| Vanderbilt | 1 | SEC |
| VCU | 5 | Colonial |
| Villanova | 1 | Big East |
| Washington | 2 | Pac-12 |
| West Virginia | 2 | Big East |
| Wisconsin | 3 | Big Ten |
| Wofford | 1 | Southern |
| Xavier | 1 | Atlantic 10 |
Next, take a look at how many units respective conferences earned as a result of their member institutions’ performances during the 2011 tournament:
| Conference | 2011 Units Earned |
| ACC | 11 |
| Atlantic 10 | 6 |
| Atlantic Sun | 1 |
| America East | 1 |
| Big 12 | 10 |
| Big East | 22 |
| Big South | 1 |
| Big Sky | 1 |
| Big Ten | 14 |
| Big West | 1 |
| Colonial | 8 |
| Conference USA | 1 |
| Horizon League | 5 |
| Ivy League | 1 |
| MAAC | 1 |
| MAC | 1 |
| Mid-Eastern | 1 |
| Missouri Valley | 1 |
| Mountain West | 4 |
| Northeast | 1 |
| Ohio Valley | 2 |
| Pac-12 | 8 |
| Patriot League | 1 |
| SEC | 12 |
| Southern | 1 |
| Southland | 1 |
| Summit League | 1 |
| WAC | 1 |
| WCC | 5 |
Given the number of units each conference earned in 2011 and the NCAA’s report that in 2010-11, each unit was worth approximately $239,664.00, one can surmise that 1/6 of each conference’s total Basketball Fund Distribution payout was equal to the number of units earned by their teams in 2011 multiplied by the unit payout amount. A calculation of this is below:
| Conference | 2011 Earnings |
| ACC | 2,636,304.00 |
| Atlantic 10 | 1,437,984.00 |
| Atlantic Sun | 239,664.00 |
| America East | 239,664.00 |
| Big 12 | 2,396,640.00 |
| Big East | 5,272,608.00 |
| Big South | 239,664.00 |
| Big Sky | 239,664.00 |
| Big Ten | 3,355,296.00 |
| Big West | 239,664.00 |
| Colonial | 1,917,312.00 |
| Conference USA | 239,664.00 |
| Horizon League | 1,198,320.00 |
| Ivy League | 239,664.00 |
| MAAC | 239,664.00 |
| MAC | 239,664.00 |
| Mid-Eastern | 239,664.00 |
| Missouri Valley | 239,664.00 |
| Mountain West | 958,656.00 |
| Northeast | 239,664.00 |
| Ohio Valley | 479,328.00 |
| Pac-12 | 1,917,312.00 |
| Patriot League | 239,664.00 |
| SEC | 2,875,968.00 |
| Southern | 239,664.00 |
| Southland | 239,664.00 |
| Summit League | 239,664.00 |
| WAC | 239,664.00 |
| WCC | 1,198,320.00 |
Finally, the NCAA reported how much was distributed to conferences via the Basketball Distribution Fund in 2010-11:
| Conference | 2011Basketball Fund Distribution |
| ACC | $18,214,465.00 |
| Atlantic 10 | $5,751,936.00 |
| Atlantic Sun | $1,437,984.00 |
| America East | $1,677,648.00 |
| Big 12 | $18,933,457.00 |
| Big East | $24,925,057.00 |
| Big South | $1,677,648.00 |
| Big Sky | $1,677,648.00 |
| Big Ten | $18,454,129.00 |
| Big West | $1,917,312.00 |
| Colonial | $3,355,296.00 |
| Conference USA | $6,950,256.00 |
| Horizon League | $4,553,616.00 |
| Ivy League | $1,917,312.00 |
| MAAC | $1,917,312.00 |
| MAC | $1,677,648.00 |
| Mid-Eastern | $1,437,984.00 |
| Missouri Valley | $5,032,944.00 |
| Mountain West | $5,032,944.00 |
| Northeast | $1,677,648.00 |
| Ohio Valley | $1,917,312.00 |
| Pac-12 | $16,057,489.00 |
| Patriot League | $1,917,312.00 |
| SEC | $15,578,161.00 |
| Southern | $2,156,976.00 |
| Southland | $1,677,648.00 |
| Summit League | $1,437,984.00 |
| WAC | $2,875,968.00 |
| WCC | $4,533,616.00 |
The big winner in terms of Basketball Distribution Fund distributions is the Big East. Its known success in basketball has allowed it to accumulate a sizable number of units over the course of the past six years, such that it received the highest payout of all conferences in 2010-11.
While the Big East’s basketball prowess has allowed it to reap the biggest amount of the Basketball Distribution Fund pie, the Horizon League’s payout is an indicator of how the success of one team can boost a conference’s payout. In 2010-11, only ten conferences (including all six of the BCS AQ conferences) received a higher payout than the Horizon League. The Horizon League is home to the Butler Bulldogs, who have made it to the championship game the past two years. As such, over the course of the last two years, Butler alone has earned 10 units for the Horizon League. Given that most mid-major conferences only earn one unit in a given year, the results that Butler has been able to produce are noteworthy.
So what can one take-away from these numbers? The big picture here, is that with each round that a team advances into during March Madness, the bigger piece of the NCAA revenue pie it and its conference will share.
Jeff Roy
March 2, 2012Thanks, Alicia, for the research. While I digest the numbers, anyone who reads this article needs to remember this essential reality about the NCAA. On average, well over 80% of their total revenue is generated by March Madness. Member fees represent a pittance of their income and football contributes virtually nothing to their coffers. The $478M distributed represents a 34% increase over the amount contributed in 2007, the only year for which I have figures (KPMG 2008 audit). Just FYI for all your readers.
Danny Kambel
March 16, 2012There’s no report given on the distribution to the Sun Belt Conference.
filth
June 5, 2012U lied on purpose to push your agenda. The mountain west was lower on your listings than it should have been. Too bad you big east apologists wont give up trying to fool us real fans
Ken Simmons
February 18, 2015One would ask; if these teams receive those amounts of money, why then do NCAA div. I athletes receive the majority of athletic scholarships? Would it not be more beneficial to have the higher earning teams pay their own scholarships out of the coffees for each sport, which in turn would open up a good amount of monetary resources for scholarship elsewhere?