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When all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four last year, bracket makers and college basketball fans alike declared March Madness dead thanks to the NIL.
But one expert analysis, Jay Bilas, doesn’t buy that notion.
“I’m not sure there’s enough data because we live in a world where one data point automatically creates a trend,” the former Duke star turned ESPN analyst said in a recent interview with Pakinomist Digital.
“And I’ll give you an example. A couple of years ago, we had San Diego State and Florida Atlantic reach the Final Four, and San Diego State made the championship game. And the narrative was, ‘The world is flat, the NIL has made everybody equal. Anybody can win. There’s complete parity across college sports now.’ And a few years later, we get all four No. 1 seeds to make 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 prior to the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium 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 sport of hindsight. 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 reached the Final Four in 2008, nearly 13 years before the NIL even existed.
So while some may think the NIL has ruined the tournament, Bilas believes that couldn’t be further from the truth, and he’ll enjoy it with some ice-cold Garage Beer, founded by Travis and Jason Kelce.
“I like beer and I like garage,” Bilas joked, adding that the Kelce brothers are a key reason he wanted to advocate for the beverage this March Madness. “I probably shouldn’t talk 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 really well together. I try to avoid it when I’m on the air, but I’m like everybody else – when there’s a good game going, I like to crack one open.”
General view of the “March Madness” logo during the First Four practice at UD Arena. (Rick Osentoski-Imagn Photos)
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Bilas also called out hypocrisy among talking heads and fans that loyalty is far away 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 they’re much better than that. Are they obligated to stay there for their entire college experience when they can jump up on the biggest stage and show everybody what they know,” Bilas said?
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“I mean, coaches do that when a team at a smaller school is doing really well, the coach comes up to the bigger school, but the players can’t. I mean, I like them to be 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 exactly picked the Final Four last year, but he expects some parity this year in what could be one of the most memorable tournaments.
A general view of the March Madness logo at center court at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
“People say, you have some people even in my company that say the sport is broken, but on the field 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 great product and I think it’s better than it’s ever been.”
