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The national champions have yet to be decided in both the women’s and men’s March Madness tournaments, but the SEC has already emerged as a winner.
After securing a record $70 million payout in the men’s tournament from 35 units, the SEC has earned another $3.4 million from 30 units in the women’s tournament, the most of any conference. The Big Ten finished second with $3.18 million in payouts from 28 units despite sending 12 teams to the Big Dance compared to the SEC’s 10.
This is the first year the NCAA offered prize money for successful tournament teams in the women’s tournament. The men’s tournament has enjoyed payouts for decades. This year’s total payout is $15 million, which amounts to around $113,636 per unit. Each unit in the men’s tournament is worth approximately $2 million.
The women’s tournament pool will increase to $20 million in 2026 and $25 million in 2027 before settling into a 2.9% yearly increase.
The ACC, which was represented by eight teams, earned $2.16 million, while the Big 12, which sent seven teams, secured $1.7 million. The Big East earned $681,000 despite having just two teams because of UConn’s Final Four run.
There were 132 units available in the tournament. Each team that qualifies for March Madness earns a unit, and every additional game a team plays is worth another unit. Only the championship game does not count, so the Final Four schools are already locked in to five units.
For example, William & Mary earned two units—one from securing an automatic qualifier by winning the Coastal Athletic Association tournament and another from winning its First Four game over High Point.
