March Madness preparations are already well underway for the NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament coming to the new 70,000 seat US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The tournament generates the majority of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s $1.1 billion in revenue, totaling $821.4 million in 2017. According to NCAA March Madness statistics, 97 million people watched the Final Four broadcast in 180 countries. Social content added 69.7 million impressions. And 67,831 were there in person to watch Villanova best Michigan. Sponsorship dollars have grown every year since the NCAA first introduced the program in 1984, driven by fan sponsor brand awareness that has reached the highest levels in 10 of 12 categories in the history of the annual sponsor loyalty survey conducted for SportsBusiness Journal/Daily by Turnkey Sports & Entertainment. That’s big business–and brilliance in marketing.

Game footage courtesy of XOS Digital. With nearly 150 collegiate rights partnerships, XOS licenses the most robust college sports footage library in the world, serving marketers, media, coaches, recruiters and officials.