March Madness, More Like Money Making Madness

Everyone's caught up in this "March Madness" where NCAA college basketball teams compete to get to the Final Four and to win the championship. Although this event is fun for friends to gather, watch the games, and fill out brackets. It's also a huge money sink for TV Networks, advertisers, and betters.

It is reported that an estimated $9 billion dollars in betting money is on the line throughout the month, via bets between friends. According to USA Today, in 2014, advertisers spent a total of  $1.13 Billion on March Madness related TV advertising.

But it's not only advertisers and betters who make money, the school also makes money. March Madness is an opportunity for schools to generate revenue. It's reported that in 2014 Louisville earned $40 million dollars in revenue from March Madness and Kentucky earned $23 million. However, not everyone wins in March Madness, the schools that earn the most money are generally the schools that go the farthest or get to the Final Four. Some schools, like North Florida, only earn around $1 million dollars from March Madness.