WOODBURY – Cinderella has lost her magic. So, is this the end of dancing for underdogs?
Since 2022, only one double-digit seeded team has made it to the elite eight, which was Doug Edert and the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, which was already four years ago.
And fans are upset, including senior NHS Brady Herman.
“I feel like my favorite part about March Madness are the upsets,” Herman said. “NIL [Name Image and Likeness] plays a huge part in the lack of upsets; it’s so hard to have a mid-major team beat these power blue bloods who spend millions on their rosters.”
Name, Image, and Likeness is the right of student-athletes to earn money from their personal brand, including endorsement deals, social media monetization, and appearances. Also, allowing schools to incentivize players to help recruit, the bigger the school, the bigger the budget for athletics.
Although this affects the madness of March, players now get money that NHS junior John Carrara claims they deserve.
“I think cinderellas have seen their better days,” Carrara said. “But the players deserve money, I get that some of these smaller conferences can’t afford to pay these elite prospects but it’s the reality, maybe the NCAA can come up with a rule to benefit all teams.”
In an article from ESPN’s David Purdum, he states, “upsets, especially by small-conference underdogs, dropped sharply throughout the season. Only 29 small-conference teams beat teams from power conferences this season — a 58.9% decrease from the 2021-22 season.”
In the 2021-22 season, the NCAA started compensating players.
In the same article, Kevin Pauga, Michigan State Associate Athletic director is quoted claiming the transfer portal is a part of the problem.
“Given the way that players can move school to school, across levels, I think it’s certainly possible that roster build and roster management has a lot to do with this,” Pauga said.
NHS junior Henry Strzlecki claims the portal is more of a black hole that fans have long adored about college sports.
“It’s gone way too far,” Strzlecki said. “You used to have to sit out an entire year and your current school would have to approve before you could contact. Allowing these guys to treat it like free agency for 7 figure paychecks is criminal and unfair to these smaller programs.”
Fans like Strzlecki miss the days where underdogs had a fighting chance at upsetting goliath.
“I miss the days of 15 seeded Princeton taking down Arizona and Missouri and reaching the sweet 16,” Strzlecki added. “I fear March is no longer magical.”
