Report: College ADs preparing for NCAA being unable to cover lost revenue over tournament cancellation
Canceling the NCAA Tournament comes at a price for the organization, the conferences and individual schools this year. According to a report from USA Today, college athletic directors are planning on the NCAA to not be able to recover at least a portion of the financial losses.
The NCAA was scheduled to distribute $600 million to Division I schools and conference this spring. Many schools are preparing to see a reduction in those distributions, though the size of the cut is not yet known.
Per the report, the NCAA does have “business-interruption” insurance in connection with the NCAA Tournament. That covers approximately $250 million to $275 million. It’s also unclear how quickly the association would have access to that money.
The NCAA Tournament and several conference tournaments were canceled last week as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. All sports across the country have been postponed until further notice.
USA Today also reports that the NCAA depends on the annual March Madness tournament for a good portion of its $1.1 billion in normal annual revenue.