LEXINGTON, Ky. -- If you wondered how much money was lost in college sports when the coronavirus forced cancellation of the 2020 men's NCAA Tournament, that answer is now available.
According to the NCAA's most recent audited financial statement, a copy of which was obtained by USA Today, not having the men's postseason hoops tourney last year resulted in a $600 million annual decline in total revenue for the college sports governing body in fiscal year 2020.
In 2019, the NCAA had $868 million in TV and marketing rights revenue, almost all from its contract with CBS and Turner Sports to broadcast the men's tournament.
For 2020, rather than get the expected $827 million from CBS and Turner for the rights to televise the men's hoops tourney, the NCAA instead received $113.1 million.
An event cancellation insurance policy also paid the NCAA $270 million.
Bottom line, the NCAA distributed $611 million to its member schools for fiscal year 2019. Last year, that figure fell to $246 million.
That loss of some $365 million in NCAA distributions is the backdrop for why you hear people saying that the survival of college sports as we have traditionally known them may depend on there being a men's NCAA hoops tourney in 2021.
Given that, can someone explain why the various college sports conferences are going to have the teams/players who will be needed to hold an NCAA Tournament risk possible exposure to the coronavirus only days before the Big Dance tips off by competing in league tourneys?
If there were going to be conference tournaments in 2021, there needed to be more time built into the schedule between the league events and the NCAA tourney.
That has not been done.
The SEC men's hoops tourney is scheduled to be held in Nashville, Tenn., March 10 through March 14.
The NCAA Tournament is slated to begin March 18.
Given that, what would happen if covid-19 somehow spread through NCAA tourney-worthy teams -- including potential No. 1-seed Alabama -- at the SEC tourney in Nashville?
Whatever money will be lost to the individual conferences in not collecting the television revenue for the broadcast of league tournaments will pale in comparison to what is forfeited if there cannot be an NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year.
Obviously, not having the SEC Tournament in 2021 would be detrimental to the local quintet.
Barring a miracle run to close out the regular season, the only viable path available into the NCAA Tournament for John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats is apt to run through the SEC tourney.
Already, there is speculation that teams assured of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament might try to opt out of league tourneys just as many football teams in 2020 declined to play in minor bowl games.
Even if there is nothing contractual to prevent league-tourney opt-outs, that scenario can't work.
Consider: In Joe Lunardi's most recent Bracketology at ESPN.com, there are 10 Big Ten teams projected to be in the field of 68 for the 2021 NCAA tourney.
As of Friday, seven of those 10 teams were ranked in the Top 25 of the Pomeroy Rankings -- Michigan (No. 3), Iowa (No. 4), Illinois (No. 5), Ohio State (No. 8), Wisconsin (No. 11), Purdue (No. 23) and Rutgers (No. 25) -- and would presumably be locks for NCAA tourney at-large bids if they went out today.
So what if all seven of those teams opted out of the Big Ten Tournament. How fair would it be for the league's automatic bid to the Big Dance to then be awarded to the winner of a Big Ten tourney held with a field of the league's remaining seven teams.
Another potential fairness issue, what if some conferences forced all their teams to play in league tournaments but other leagues didn't?
Even if there are no opt-outs, what if coaches who know their teams are NCAA tourney locks show up at league tournaments and play only walk-ons to eliminate the risk of their key players being sidelined by covid-19/contact tracing only days before the tournament that matters begins?
This year, the NCAA Tournament is going to be conducted entirely in the Indianapolis area in what presumably will be a coronavirus-protection bubble designed to shield participants from risk.
So how do you justify holding multiple league tourneys at sites all around the country only days before teams travel to Indy?
Conferences should award their automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament to their regular-season champions.
With so much riding on a successfully completed NCAA tourney, conference basketball tournaments are a gamble not worth any benefit they could yield.
The responsible decision for league commissioners this year is to pull the plug on league tourneys.