March Madness is now taking full flight, with the round-of-64 games on Thursday beginning what some fans argue are the two greatest days on the sports calendar. The other madness of March, though, with the upcoming start of the transfer portal in men’s college basketball, is already causing its own schisms throughout the sport. 

The current state of the portal is already reflected in the 297 transferred players competing in March Madness (according to a study by AD Advisors and Timark Partners). This is a subset of the more than 2,000 players in the portal last year—amounting to about half of all college basketball players.

Somewhat similar numbers are expected this year, and already, more than 300 players have declared their intention to transfer, according to Verbal Commits. The March 24 start of the 2025 cycle promises to bring plenty of changes. Among the forthcoming impacts:

• A different timing: The start of the transfer portal is a week later compared to last year, when it began right after Selection Sunday. This time, the window begins after the March Madness round-of-32 games, by which time more than 90% of all Division I teams will have concluded their seasons. 
• Postseason turbulence: While the new timing was designed to help programs, it still led to several non–March Madness teams turning down other postseason opportunities such as the National Invitation Tournament and College Basketball Crown. “We want to move full speed ahead on offseason plans, building our program and our roster, and going from there,” said Penn State coach Mike Rhoades. The Nittany Lions were one of numerous major-conference programs to decline secondary postseason tournament bids.
• NIL bidding wars: Just as was the case last season, this year’s transfer portal will feature players pitting programs against one another in search of deals for their name, image, and likeness rights. 
• The end of extra COVID-19-era eligibility: One factor that could curtail transfer-portal movement somewhat is this season’s end of an extra year of player eligibility stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. That will mean an end to fifth-year players from that period seeking a new college home, and a payday, from their extra year of eligibility. 
• A tighter window: The portal will close April 22, and the 30-day window is markedly shorter than last year’s 45 days, meaning both coaches and players will be under pressure to make quicker decisions. 
• A changing competitive landscape: The SEC is dominating the March Madness field in historic fashion, but talent continues to disperse in unprecedented ways.

“I think there’s better teams [across college basketball] because the whole reason people go places now is either for the money or for the opportunity to play,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. “Winning is not necessarily high on that list. And that’s O.K., but that means there’s going to be more players spread out.”

Perhaps the single most popular data point in sports last year was that the women’s March Madness championship game outdrew the men’s for the first time.

The women’s title game, which featured Caitlin Clark and Iowa against Dawn Staley and South Carolina, smashed the record for the most-watched iteration of the event (18.9 million), while the men’s championship between UConn and Purdue was its second-least-watched version (14.8 million).

It was clear the star power of Clark helped drive viewership for the women—her semifinal battle against Paige Bueckers and the Huskies nearly outdrew the men’s final (14.2 million) even though multiple players in the men’s game ended up as lottery selections in the 2024 NBA draft (Stephon Castle, Zach Edey, Donovan Clingan). 

That’s in part because of the difference in draft rules of the NBA and WNBA. The former has its “one-and-done” rule that allows players to enter the draft one year after high school, while the latter requires domestic players to be 22 the year of the draft. This allows top pro prospects like Clark and Bueckers additional years to build NCAA fan bases, while the men are more reliant on rare freshman stars.

But this year, the men’s game has first-year phenom Cooper Flagg, and he may showcase the value of star power in March Madness.

Lone Star

The 18-year-old is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and has buzz unlike any American prospect since fellow Blue Devil Zion Williamson in 2019 or perhaps even Kentucky’s Anthony Davis in 2012. Duke—though already a viewership draw on its own—has been in 4 of the 10 most-watched regular-season men’s college games this year.

While well-known schools like Auburn and Kentucky are top seeds, few players in the tournament beyond Flagg are household names who can move the needle. Rutgers duo Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, the next two best NBA prospects following Flagg, missed the tournament.

A positive sign for viewership is that Duke is favored to make a deep run, but there are no guarantees, especially since Flagg will be coming off an ankle injury he sustained in the ACC tournament last week. Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer said the goal is for Flagg to play during their tournament opener Friday—and Flagg’s mom, Kelly, told Front Office Sports they expect him back “very soon.” 

Another potential boost for the tournament is that viewership may rise simply because the game will be on CBS, an over-the-air channel, rather than via cable on TNT networks like last year. However, this is no guarantee viewership will recover. The 2023 title game, the least-watched men’s game, aired on CBS.

North Carolina keeps cashing in following the basketball program’s controversial selection by the men’s NCAA tournament selection committee chaired by Tar Heels athletic director Bubba Cunningham.

UNC’s 95–68 win over San Diego State in the First Four earned the ACC another $2 million as part of the NCAA’s March Madness units payout system. That’s on top of the $2 million the ACC received for UNC making the tournament field. No. 11 UNC will play No. 6 Ole Miss on Friday in the first round.

Before the majority of teams play their first game, UNC has already doubled its tournament units payout, which will be spread out across the ACC. ACC champion Duke received the conference’s automatic bid that comes with $2 million, and Clemson and Louisville also made $2 million each for the ACC by getting March Madness berths.

Up to four more unit payments are available for each of the ACC’s schools, as advancing to subsequent rounds of the tournament until the Final Four earns another $2 million each time.

The Bubba Conundrum

Cunningham, who will receive a $67,905.66 bonus for UNC making the men’s tournament, said he was not part of the discussions to include the Tar Heels—and exclude West Virginia, the first team left out of the bracket—despite being the committee chair.

Beyond the tournament bid bonus (per his contract, one-twelfth of his $814,868 annual salary), Cunningham could cash in further if UNC makes a March Madness run:

• Sweet 16 appearance: $50,000
• Final Four appearance: $75,000
• Wins national championship: $100,000

Cunningham would receive the highest payment of the scenarios above, not a separate payment for each achievement.