The first 15-seed to ever advance to the Elite Eight in NCAA tournament history was Saint Peter's. (0:41)
One of the most endearing aspects of Saint Peter's NCAA tournament run is the proportional size of the school's athletic budget compared to the schools that it has slayed.
Saint Peter's spent less on athletics last year than Kentucky. According to Rachelle Paul, the school's basketball operating budget is less than $250,000 and the lowest in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
When Saint Peter's plays North Carolina on Sunday, a vexing question will loom for the MAAC and Saint Peter's going forward. How do they split the money from Saint Peter?
It is safe to say that Saint Peter's three wins in the tournament will result in at least $6 million in additional money from the three extra NCAA units. The league has the power to distribute the money over the next six years.
Paul would like to see Saint Peter's get a little bit more.
MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor, who is a Saint Peter's graduate, acknowledges this but said there is unlikely to be a windfall.
The ultimate decision on how to fairly compensate Saint Peter's is something that he would have to take up with my board, which is made up of MAAC presidents. There is a distribution system in place that allows for a modest slice of money for teams that have won the tournament. Improving basketball in the league is expected to be the focus of the rest of the excess money.
He doesn't think there's going to be a big deal at Saint Peter's. It is not my call. They want to invest.
Different leagues have different ways of handling unit money. The league weights teams that win more games.
The MAAC lacks the revenue of major football conferences, but a run like this is significant. Since 2009, the MAAC has not received more than one unit in the NCAA tournament.
Every year, the MAAC is guaranteed one unit in the NCAA tournament. According to the NCAA, those units are worth $338,000. According to the NCAA, those units are paid out over six years. Each unit is worth at least $2,029,265 over the course of six years. This run is worth more than $8.1 million for the MAAC. How could more money be devoted to Saint Peter&s help the program?
Paul said that it could change the program. It could help with recruiting and facility improvements. There are a million things we could use that money for.
According to the latest available tax documents, Saint Peter's coach makes nearly $266,000 per year. They can pay him nearly ten times more than Saint Peter's, so he might leave for them.
According to Paul, the Saint Peter's basketball staff has four members who are not paid. Saint Peter's endowment is less than the total amount of Kentucky coach John Calipari's contract. Paul said the modest basketball operating budget does not include things like paying officials, as raising money888-607-3166 is required for things that many have money allocated for.
She said that they have a ways to go to get to a point where they are comfortable not crunching numbers for every road trip. We are very conscientious about what we spend the money on. It only goes so far.
There will be a lot of interest in how Saint Peter is rewarded for its efforts when the run ends.
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