The NCAA plans to send $613 million of revenue largely derived from March Madness to D-I schools this year, according to records released last week.

But there’s a catch: The payouts depend on the tournament’s schedule remaining intact.

If teams play every game, the NCAA will distribute the full amount, an NCAA spokesperson confirmed to FOS. (CBS Sports first reported this aspect of the payout plan.)

The spokesperson wasn’t able to immediately say what the distribution plan would be if any games are axed.

The Breakdown

Not every conference — or school — receives the same amount: The NCAA uses factors ranging from academic performance and number of sponsored sports to performance in March Madness to determine each payout.

This year, the “Basketball Performance Fund” and the “Equal Conference Fund” represent 37% of the distribution pie, by far the greatest portion. 

Here’s how the NCAA appropriates the $222.5 million of performance money up for grabs: First, each D-I conference that plays men’s basketball receives a fixed amount from the Equal Conference Fund. 

Then, conferences receive extra “units” for each of their teams that make the tournament beyond automatic bids. Conferences also receive units for every game besides the championship and the automatic qualifiers’ first games.

The NCAA awards money based on a “six-year rolling average” of units, meaning this year the money will be allocated based on the average of units received in tournaments between 2015-2020. 

The Comparison

Since 2011-12 alone, the NCAA’s D-I distribution plan has grown by more than $100 million, records show. 

The pandemic disrupted that trend. In 2020, the NCAA planned to distribute $600 million but was only able to send about $225 million when the tournament was canceled.

But from this year onward, the governing body expects growth. In 2032, the NCAA plans to send $826.6 million to schools — about 25% more than this year, documents show. 

Notre Dame, Northwestern, and Tulane will not agree to be portrayed in EA Sports College Football until college athletes can profit off their name, image, and likeness, according to team statements and a Chicago Sun-Times report.

Notre Dame in particular said it supports athletes participating in group licensing deals.

Notre Dame vs. NCAA

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick officially broke with the NCAA’s stance during an interview with the “Paul Finebaum Show,” saying he believes athletes should be able to profit off their portrayal in the video game without being considered employees. 

“You can’t say, ‘No group license, so they can’t participate,’” Swarbrick said. “That’s not fair.” 

The NCAA has said it opposes group licensing rights because it doesn’t want athletes to represent themselves collectively. 

Organizations resembling college athlete unions could threaten the NCAA’s business model of “amateurism.” 

Northwestern also opposed an official college athlete union in 2014. Yet, it’s now one of the three schools using the video game to advocate for athlete NIL rights.

The Background

In February, Electronic Arts announced it would reboot the long-dormant game with the assumption that NIL rights would eventually pass.

While the NCAA’s proposed rule changes do not allow for group licensing, several federal NIL bills would allow for the practice.

Convenient Timing

Sports attorney and athletes rights advocate Tammi Gaw explained the reasons schools aren’t worried about repercussions from group licensing right now.

“One, they have time before the game would be released. Two, there are too many bills pending to predict the NIL landscape,” Gaw told FOS. 

“Three, it makes for a good recruiting pitch.”

Ultimately, there’s not one central reason to support group licensing. “While it may be a small aspect, I think that it would be premature to assign it an altruistic motivation,” Gaw said.

Las Vegas will host 10 conference tournaments for D-I men’s and women’s basketball. It’s been a destination for these events in years past — but the pandemic has made it even more popular.

The Western Athletic, West Coast, Pac-12, and Mountain West conferences will return, while the Big West will play there for the first time. 

To minimize contact with the outside world, conferences are choosing Vegas as a de facto bubble since arenas are either close to or connected to hotels.

The Perks

In 2020, the Big West held its tournaments at the Honda Center in Anaheim. But they’ve relocated to the Michelob Ultra Arena this year to achieve a “bubble-like setting,” Commissioner Dan Butterly said in a statement.

The tournaments will draw on successful protocols from previous events, from daily testing and sanitized practice facilities to enclosed walkways to and from the arena, according to the conference.

“Mandalay Bay provides the ideal campus in which to create a safe ‘stay and play’ environment,” Brooks Downing, president and CEO of Las Vegas NCAA tournament organizer bdG Sports, said in a statement.

Sports Haven

Conferences looking for an environment conducive to basketball during the pandemic aren’t the only ones that have found a home in Vegas.

In the fall, New Mexico state regulations prevented the gathering and traveling required to hold a season. So the University of New Mexico football team spent its season at a Las Vegas hotel and trained at UNLV.