The Butler men’s basketball team huddles up during a game last season. Butler’s appearance in two NCAA Tournament games earned the Big East conference approximately $1.6 million. Jimmy Lafakis/Collegian file photo.
When the No. 10 seed Butler men’s basketball team defeated No. 7 seed Arkansas in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament, the implications were clear enough: for the fourth-straight year, Butler was advancing to the second round of the tournament.
But that win was also worth roughly $1.6 million, money that will be shared over the next six years by the Butler basketball program, athletic department and on a larger scale, the Big East conference.