March Madness is almost here in all of its glory!
To celebrate, personal-finance website WalletHub released its March Madness Stats & Facts infographic, as well as its 2023 Best Cities for College Basketball Fans.
In the stats and facts portion, WalletHub highlighted some interesting numbers, such as: $16.3 billion in corporate losses due to unproductive workers in March Madness, $1.14 billion in annual revenue for the NCAA in 2022 and $10.2 million for the highest-paid college basketball coach in Kansas’ Bill Self. The website also highlighted how there’s a 47-times difference between an NBA rookie’s salary ($3.4 million) and a Division I men’s college basketball scholarship worth one year ($71,400).
But what sticks out to me the most is how WalletHub ranked both the best and worst cities for college basketball. Personally, I’m always interested in city studies when it comes to sports, and this one is another gem. (RELATED: ‘Sh*t Lightweight Hilarious’: LeBron James Says That His Son Is ‘Definitely Better’ Than Players In The NBA)
WalletHub conducted this particular survey with over 290 cities using nine key metrics, including the number of teams per city, winning percentage, stadium capacity and social media engagement.
Happy March Madness .. Kemba Walker’s time at UConn will never be forgotten .. 🎯
— Ben Stinar (@BenStinar) March 5, 2023
Here are the best cities for college basketball, according to the study:
- Durham, North Carolina
- Lawrence, Kansas
- Storrs, Connecticut
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Los Angeles, California
- East Lansing, Michigan
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Fayette, Mississippi
- Loretto, Pennsylvania
Here are WalletHub’s worst cities for college basketball:
- New Britain, Connecticut
- Easton, Massachusetts
- Daytona Beach, Florida
- Pocatello, Idaho
- Berkeley, California
- Dover, Delaware
- Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- Commerce, Texas
- Austin, Texas
- Wichita, Kansas
Interesting stuff, for sure. And not many surprises at that.