The Finance of the First Four

By: Jack Cohen

April 7, 2026

Photo Credit: The Sporting News

Each March, eight schools with oftentimes quiet basketball storylines start their march madness journey at the mecca of college basketball: Dayton, Ohio. UD Arena, normally home to the A-10’s Dayton Flyers, hosts four “play-in” games to narrow the field from 68 to the 64 team bracket commonly associated with the tournament. Despite seemingly insignificant relevance to the majority of college basketball fans filling out their bracket pools, these games create meaningful financial incentives for mid-major schools with slim chances of otherwise advancing in the tournament.

This year's First Four games featured three schools from power conferences in the “last-four in” games: matchups of 11 seeds receiving the last at-large bids to the tournament. Texas, representing the SEC, took on North Carolina State (ACC) while Southern Methodist (ACC) played Miami Ohio of the mid-major MAC conference. The MAC received an at-large bid for the first time since the Redhawks did so in 1999. Two games were also played between sixteen-seed automatic qualifiers: Howard of the MEAC beat UMBC of the American East while Prairie View A&M of the SWAC topped Lehigh representing the Patriot. These teams’ competition to enter the first round of the tournament hoists bigger stakes: schools with smaller athletic budgets, rely on these earnings to fund their teams. Prairie View A&M, for example, lost $268,359 on their Men’s Basketball program in the 2023 fiscal year. Playing an extra tournament game helps the school recoup their losses while giving a small market school a national spotlight. The 365 NCAA DI basketball schools have a drastic range of financial priorities and opportunities. An early tournament start can serve as both exposure to an underrepresented program along with a financial lifeline.

In the NCAA’s current payout format, conferences are paid equally for all tournament wins; conferences are paid directly for their members' success in the tournament. Since each conference makes roughly $2,000,000 per tournament game, the first four gives lower quality teams a chance to play an additional. For power conference teams like Texas, SMU or NC State, that extra game is marginal for the financial budget of the programs in their respective conferences. For 16 seeds (or the MAC), a single win is accompanied with a high financial incentive.

Fairleigh Dickinson’s 2023 tournament run, started in the first four before beating #1 seed Purdue in the first round. FDU kickstarted their Cinderella story with their opening win, creating momentum on their route to success. With their spotlight and fame, FDU was able to upgrade their facilities. Schools with minuscule athletic budgets can create real opportunities for growth of their programs; FDU went from watching film in their open-shower locker room to having a designated lounge space for film and other team activities. This additional game introduces a level of financial upside that can fund scholarships, facilities, and future recruiting efforts for smaller, less-competitive programs.

The NCAA expanded the tournament to include four play-in games in 2011, primarily to create more broadcast opportunities. This season, TruTV grossed over 7.5 million viewers for their march madness stream, the most ever. Broadcast of standalone high-stakes games such as these is very profitable for networks. The NCAA sells these rights as part of their March Madness package with Werner Sports. The expansion of the tournament allows the league to create additional revenue streams through advertisements.

The First Four creates stakes for teams that would otherwise get dismissed. For teams who otherwise wouldn’t make the tournament or get overlooked because of their conference, it creates another opportunity to generate revenue. For 16 seeds, it may be their only chance at a nationally broadcast game. For those schools, this small, overlooked addition to the bracket creates both a structural advantage and a financial incentive. In March, teams must simply survive and advance; that run could start on a Tuesday in Dayton.