The Diff: Round One, Day One

We do this every year around this time, and here again are the differences in athletic and basketball budgets between the teams in today's mid-versus-notso games. Our Red Line that separates those above and us here below is based on average athletic budgets, and teams in the Upper 8 beat the Other 24 a full 85 percent of the time.

So money is very important in this sport. Money is what makes conferences "power conferences," because money is power. Money is what lets programs retain their overachieving head coaches, travel the world recruiting the best players available, and build facilities that will help them compete. When the low seeds face off against the big boys today, remember what they're up against: cash, baby. All figures from the U.S. Department of Education.

[11] Old Dominion vs. [6] Notre Dame - 12:25 pm

South (Houston) Region - New Orleans, LA
Athletic ODU: $17,974,306 ND: $60,117,476 ($43m diff/28% of ND's)
Men's Basketball ODU: $2,229,772 ND: $3,908,815 ($1m diff/67% of ND's)

[15] Robert Morris vs. [2] Villanova - 12:30 pm

South (Houston) Region - Providence, RI
Athletic RMU: $10,647,726 NOVA: $23,925,128 ($13m diff/43% of NOVA's)
Men's Basketball RMU: $1,167,353 NOVA: $4,930,726 ($3m diff/25% of NOVA's)

[13] Murray State vs. [4] Vanderbilt - 2:30 pm

West (Salt Lake City) Region - San Jose, CA
Athletic MURR: $11,176,152 VAND: $45,521,856 ($34m diff/24% of VAND's)
Men's Basketball MURR: $1,302,125 VAND: $7,495,815 ($6m diff/14% of VAND's)

[15] North Texas vs. [2] Kansas State - 2:40 pm

West (Salt Lake City) Region - Oklahoma City, OK
Athletic NTEX: $15,762,952 KSU: $40,409,152 ($25m diff/38% of KSU's)
Men's Basketball NTEX: $1,379,201 KSU: $4,837,418 ($3m diff/25% of KSU's)

[14] Sam Houston State vs. [3] Baylor - 2:45 pm

South (Houston) Region - New Orleans, LA
Athletic SAMH: $7,884,584 BAY: $44,151,764 ($37m diff/16% of BAY's)
Men's Basketball SAMH: $669,382 BAY: $3,356,126 ($2.4m diff/20% of BAY's)

[12] Texas-El Paso vs. [5] Butler - 4:45 pm

West (Salt Lake City) Region - San Jose, CA
Athletic BUTL: $10,595,162 UTEP: $22,598,732 ($12m diff/46% of UTEP's)
Men's Basketball BUTL: $1,803,345 UTEP: $3,036,404 ($2m diff/60% of UTEP's)

[9] Northern Iowa vs. [8] UNLV - 7:10 pm

Midwest (St. Louis) Region - Oklahoma City, OK
Athletic UNI: $14,180,945 UNLV: $32,352,836 ($18m diff/44% of UNLV's)
Men's Basketball UNI: $1,543,869 UNLV: $3,550,110 ($2m diff/33% of UNLV's)

[16] East Tennessee State vs. [1] Kentucky - 7:15 pm

East (Syracuse) Region - New Orleans, LA
Athletic ETSU: $5,185,600 UK: $67,795,056 ($62m diff/7% of UK's)
Men's Basketball ETSU: $978,100 UK: $8,584,145 ($7m diff/11% of UK's)

[14] Ohio vs. [3] Georgetown - 7:25 pm

Midwest (St. Louis) Region - Providence, RI
Athletic OHIO: $20,448,176 GU: $28,956,476 ($8m diff/71% of GU's)
Men's Basketball OHIO: $1,432,379 GU: $7,912,606 ($6m diff/14% of GU's)

[16] Lehigh vs. [1] Kansas - 9:30 pm

Midwest (St. Louis) Region - Oklahoma City, OK
Athletic LEH: $21,860,748 KU: $65,707,112 ($44m diff/32% of KU's)
Men's Basketball LEH: $823,248 KU: $9,386,335 ($8.5m diff/8% of KU's)

[14] Montana vs. [3] New Mexico - 9:40 pm

East (Syracuse) Region - San Jose, CA
Athletic UMT: $13,525,237 NM: $28,806,308 ($15m diff/46% of NM's)
Men's Basketball UMT: $1,232,754 NM: $3,888,141 ($2m diff/33% of NM's)

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