It’s getting closer to that time a year — starting with Selection Sunday on March 15th, and games from March 17th – April 6th — when Division-I men’s college basketball turns the sports world on its ear with March Madness.
In light of that, the personal-finance website WalletHub yesterday released its March Madness Stats & Facts infographic as well as its report on 2020’s Best Cities for College Basketball Fans and accompanying videos to help get hoops lovers pumped for this majestic time of year.
It’s no surprise that Durham and Chapel Hill, NC, (areas sans an NBA franchise) are number one and two, respectivley, as far as being College Hoops Fans’ paradise, which is most likely due to Duke and North Carolina Universities, both schools with large fan bases and storied basketball programs.
However, pro sports cities with NBA teams — Los Angeles (Lakers, Clippers) and Philadelphia (76ers) — come in at the number five and nine spots, respectively.
Locally for me, Jersey City, NJ, ranks at number 283 on the list.
Additionally, you can read these interesting hoops facts:
March Madness Stats & Facts
- $9.3 Million: Salary for college basketball’s highest-paid coach, Kentucky’s John Calipari (vs. $1.6M combined for University of Kentucky’s president and the state’s governor).
- $13.3 Billion: Corporate losses due to unproductive workers during March Madness. Hey, someone has to coordinate that office bracket buster pool, right?
- The average worker spends six hours watching March Madness. This fact explains the above reason for corporate dropoff.
- $8.5 Billion: Amount wagered on the 2019 NCAA men’s basketball tournament ($3.9B illegally). I’m not at liberty to discuss the last statistic, but you can reach me offline to place a bet (I kid)!
- 46.5X: Difference between the average NBA rookie’s salary ($3.2M) and a Division-I men’s athlete basketball scholarship for a year ($70K). No wonder there are som many one and dones in college hoops.
To see all the stats and the full infographic, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/blog/march-madness-statistics/11016/
Source: The information in this report is based on WalletHub’s projections as well as data from NCAA, American Gaming Association, Seat Geek, TiqIQ, and news reports.
Jerry Del Priore
NY NJ Sports World/Brooklyn Sports World 