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When all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four last year, bracket-makers and college basketball aficionados alike declared March Madness dead thanks to NIL.
But one expert analysis, Jay Bilas, is not buying that notion.
“I’m not sure there’s enough data, because we live in a world where one data point automatically makes a trend,” the former Duke star turned ESPN analyst said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
“And I’ll give you an example. A few years ago, we had San Diego State and Florida Atlantic make the Final Four, and San Diego State made the championship game. And the narrative was, ‘The world is flat, NIL has made everyone equal. Anybody can win. There’s complete parity across college sports now.’ And a couple years later, we get all four No. 1 seeds making it, and the narrative was, ‘Cinderella is dead. Only the big shots can win. The sport is ruined…’
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ESPN College GameDay host Jay Bilas prepares to broadcast ahead of the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on on February 1, 2025, in Durham, North Carolina. (Lance King/Getty Images)
“Each of these tournaments is different. And again, one data point doesn’t make a trend. This is a rearview mirror sport. People complain about it afterwards. They like it when it’s going on, but they complain about it afterwards.”
Bilas also pointed out that all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four in 2008, nearly 13 years before NIL even existed.
So while some may think NIL has ruined the tournament, Bilas believes that could not be further from the truth, and he will be enjoying it with some ice-cold Garage Beer, founded by Travis and Jason Kelce.
“I like beer, and I like garages,” Bilas joked, adding that the Kelce brothers are a key reason why he wanted to be a spokesperson for the beverage this March Madness. “I probably shouldn’t be talking about how much I like beer, but I like beer and I like Garage Beer. And there’s nothing better than tournament time, and those two things go together really well. I try to avoid it when I’m on the air, but I’m just like everybody else — when there’s a good game on, I like to crack one open.”
General view of the “March Madness” logo during the First Four Practice at UD Arena. (Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images)
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Bilas also called out hypocrisy among talking heads and fans about loyalty being far gone as the transfer portal has become more popular than ever.
“When you couldn’t leave, was that called loyalty or was there just no choice? And I like living in a world where a player is under-recruited out of high school has to go somewhere that they didn’t aspire to, and they show that they’re way better than that. Are they required to stay there for their entire college experience when they can jump up onto the biggest stage and show what they can do? And everybody knows who they are,” Bilas said.
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“I mean, coaches do it when a team at a smaller school does really well, the coach comes up to the bigger school, but the players can’t. I mean, I like it that they’re allowed to do that. And if we want them to stay, then sign them to a long-term contract, where it’s the player’s choice and the school’s choice that they stay.”
Bilas accurately picked the Final Four last year, but he expects some parity this year in what may be one of the most memorable tourneys.
A general overall view of the March Madness logo at center court of the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
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“People are saying, you have some people even in my business that are saying the sport is broken, but on the court, it’s never been better,” Bilas said. “The players are better than they’ve ever been. The game is older now than it was five, six years ago, I think I think it’s a fabulous product and I do think it’s better than it’s ever been.”
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