Sports | March 19, 2018 11:47 am

NCAA Tournament Upsets Make History, Cash

With their win against Virginia, UMBC made about $1.7 million for the America East Conference.

Jairus Lyles #10 of the UMBC Retrievers and teammates regroup between plays against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

By Evan Bleier @itishowitis

Upset wins in the NCAA tournament don’t just boost morale – they also boost bank accounts.

By winning their matchup against No. 1 Virginia on Friday night, the No. 16 UMBC Retrievers made about $1.7 million for the America East Conference, according to The Associated Press.

Under the system that’s in place, the NCAA pays out a portion of the more than $700 million in revenue the tourney generates in “units” which are based on how teams fare in March Madness. There are exceptions, but generally, a unit is earned for each extra game that a team appears in.

Units for this year’s tournament are worth about $273,000, but will end up being worth much more than that because they are paid out this year and then for five more years afterward (with about a 2-3 percent increase in value each year).

What that means is that each team that made the Sweet 16 has already earned about $3.4 million for their conference. Advancing to the Elite Eight will boost that number to $5.1 million while making the Final Four will bring it to $6.8 million.

That’s just one more reason tops seeds like UVA and Xavier should be upset about being upset.