Craig Bowen 
SIMON: The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers, is a family name in a single day. They pulled off the biggest disenchanted ever inside the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. But how disappointed have enthusiasts been approximately the ways of the NCAA? Howard Bryant of ESPN joins us. Good morning, Howard. HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning, Scott. Are you truly going to make me smash the Golden Retriever moment by talking about the enterprise of sports activities? Yes. You are, aren’t you? SIMON: Well, that’s what we had deliberate – sure.
SIMON: That’s what we do here in the information enterprise.
BRYANT: What a notable victory, even though. SIMON: Really turned into – I confess. I did not even understand the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, had a basketball team. And they beat the No. 1 ranked crew in the u. S ., the Virginia Cavaliers, with the aid of 20 points – seventy-four-fifty-four. BRYANT: Smoked them – yeah. SIMON: So would you name this stunning, impressive or stupefying?
BRYANT: Well, I suppose it is a superb victory due to the fact as the sector has long past to 64, you’d never had a sixteen beat a No. 1. Eventually, it turned into going to manifest in the future – that it turned into going to appear to Virginia and they were going to – now not simply lose the sport – it wasn’t going to be a few half of-court docket buzzer-beater. They were given demolished. They were given beat via 20 factors. And they had been down double digits maximum of the game. And so that changed into pretty considerable.
I am not, but I will say this was the greatest disillusioned in the history of university basketball. Nevertheless, suppose that you have some excellent, brilliant groups that later in the match had no enterprise losing. I’d say 1984 if you study Houston and NC State – obviously that one. I assume you look the following year – Georgetown, Villanova – also a top-notch, super disillusioned. This, but, became quite extensive and plenty of fun. SIMON: Of route, the video games are pleasing. But the actual game is money. And did ultimate night time – nicely, permit me positioned it this way. How a whole lot, Howard Bryant, will the non-profit NCAA make from this tournament?
BRYANT: Over a billion greenbacks. And for the first time, they’re crossing the billion-dollar mark for a two-week event. And all over again, as we understand, the players do not make any cash from this. And if you purchase a kid a tuna sandwich, it’s an NCAA violation for the most element. And so, I assume we need to recognize the sizable sums of cash it really is being made in this tournament. But I think greater than that; I suppose we also have to pay attention to the promise that these youngsters are on campus to get training. That has completely disappeared. All of these fallacies have to be the type confronted. And we need to have a look at this as the hardcore enterprise that it’s far from. In many methods, Scott, it is now not that a lot one-of-a-kind from soccer in that we have this choice we need to make as fans. Are you going to genuinely watch this for your enjoyment and in your alma mater? Or are you going to watch it for spotting it as the cold billion-dollar enterprise that it’s miles wherein the real expertise isn’t compensated?
SIMON: Now, the NCAA says the cash does go to pupil athletes in that it helps athletic packages at faculties and universities, which include, for that be counted, sports like fencing or curling that do not sell tv rights typically and scholarships and preferred enhancement of the university. Are you moving through that argument? BRYANT: Not without a doubt, no, because you cannot tell me that there’s no room to compensate the player whilst Mike Krzyzewski at Duke makes over $10 million a year or John Calipari makes $8 million a year in profits.
And I assume that it’s a good deal greater a mindset of the public as nicely in that we want to concentrate on this attitude that the players are receiving loose schooling. It’s not unfastened. Their scholarships aren’t even guaranteed. So they are no longer even receiving the fee of a 4-12 months scholarship. They’re there for three hundred and sixty-five days – renewable. So if they get hurt or something, sometimes the scholarship’s now not even assured. And we want to take a look at them as something that – it’s now not being given to them. They earned this. They earned this. And they work very, very hard. And I suppose that it’s tough to have a look at sports activities except we have a look at this as well. SIMON: Howard Bryant of ESPN, thanks a lot for being with us, my buddy. Talk to you quickly.
