The Biz of March Madness
As Michigan State University, Virginia University, Duke University, Nike, Adidas, CBS,
ESPN, and the NCAA can attest March Madness is serious business. Here’s what you’ll
need to do as a Sports Marketing pro to help capitalize on the Madness:
Part One – It Must Be the Shoes –
Sports Apparel companies put a lot of money and hope into the fact that “their” teams
will perform well when on the country’s biggest stage. You represent a Sports Apparel
company and have to choose which teams you will outfit for the NCAA Tournament.
The longer they last in the tournament; the more media exposure, the more attention,
which means more money for your company. However, you do not have an unlimited
budget. You have to make some sponsorship decisions in order to maximize your
company’s exposure. Here’s how this big money game works:
1. You have a sponsorship budget of $500,000
2. For every win that a team has your company earns the revenue below:
a. First Round =
$100,000
b. Second Round = $150,000
c. Sweet Sixteen = $250,000
d. Elite Eight =
$450,000
e. Final Four =
$700,000
f. Championship = $1,500,000
3. The cost of outfitting a team with your product depends on how highly ranked the
team is (the more well known the school, the more it costs to sponsor).
You must sponsor at least 4 teams. Costs per seed are below:
a. #1-2 Seed =
$250,000
b. #3-5 Seed =
$100,000
c. #6-9 Seed =
$75,000
d. #10-13 Seed = $50,000
e. #14-16 Seed = $25,000
Part Two – Butler? VCU? Dayton? Old Dominion? Wofford? Richmond?
No name schools are often the Cinderella stories of the NCAA Tournament. Pick an
underdog (#9 seed or higher), which might even be a school that you have never heard
of before and put together a brief marketing presentation for that college/university.
Promote the school; make “us” want to apply. Address the following topics in your
presentation (max. 7 slides):
1. Name and location
2. Enrollment (total, undergrad, graduate, male, female)
3. Brief background of college/university (including any notable alumni) – 5
important historical events in the school’s history.
4. Academic features/highlights (majors/areas of study)
5. Athletic features/highlights (season record, conference championships, NCAA
tournament appearances)
6. Photo collage of college/university (such as: pic of school/buildings, basketball
team, logo, mascot, etc.)
7. Links to sources (Use only – NCAA, School & Conference Websites)
2017 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament Field
East Region
#1 Villanova Wildcats
#16 LIU/RAD
West Region
#1 Xavier
#16 NCCU/Texas SO
#8 Va. Tech
#9 Alabama
#8 Missouri
#9 Florida St.
#5 West Virginia
#12 Murray St
#5 Ohio St.
#12 South Dakota St
#4 Wichita St
#13 Marshall
#4 Gonzaga
#13 UNC-Green.
#6 Florida
#11 StBO/UCLA
#6 Houston
#11 San Diego St
#3 Texas Tech
#14 SF Austin
#3 Michigan
#14 Montana
#7 Arkansas
#10 Butler
#7 Texas A & M
#10 Providence
#2 Purdue
#15 CS Fullerton
#2 N. Carolina
#16 Lipscomb
South Region
#1 Virginia
#16 UMBC
Midwest Region
#1 Kansas Jayhawks
#16 Penn
#8 Creighton
#9 Kansas St
#8 Seton Hall
#9 NC State
#5 Kentucky
#12 Davidson
#5 Clemson
#12 New Mexico St
#4 Arizona
#13 Buffalo
#4 Auburn
#13 Charleston
#6 Miami (Fla.)
#11 Loyola-Chicago
#6 TCU
#11 ASU/Syracuse
#3 Tennessee
#14 Wright St
#3 Michigan St.
#14 Bucknell
#7 Nevada
#10 Texas
#7 Rhode Island
#10 Oklahoma
#2 Cincinnati
#15 Georgia St.
#2 Duke
#15 Iona
NAME: ________________________________
Sponsorship Selection Sheet
Directions: Using the current teams (listed on the previous page) in the 2017 NCAA DI Men’s
Basketball Tournament, select the teams your apparel company would like to sponsor for the duration
of this event.
Remember you have $500,000 to spend and must sponsor AT LEAST 4 teams.
Here is a review of the cost per team based on the seed they have been given in the tournament.
a. #1-2 Seed = $250,000
d. #10-13 Seed = $50,000
b. #3-5 Seed = $100,000
e. #14-16 Seed = $25,000
c. #6-9 Seed = $75,000
Team Selected & Tournament Seed
Money Spent
Total Spent:
$500,000
Revenue Earned:
Throughout the tournament you will keep track of the revenue earned by your teams. The revenue
earnings per round are:
a. First Round =
$100,000
b. Second Round = $150,000
c. Sweet Sixteen = $250,000
1st Round
2nd Round
Sweet 16
d. Elite Eight =
$450,000
e. Final Four =
$700,000
f. Championship = $1,500,000
Elite 8
Final 4
Championship
Grand Total earned from March Madness Sponsorship: _________________________________