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Canada’s (lower-key) college hoops tournaments are set to tip off
Pierre Trudeau famously likened sharing a border with the United States to “sleeping with an elephant.” That could also describe the relationship between Canadian and U.S. collegiate basketball.
March Madness is the hoops equivalent of a 10,000-lb. beast. The U.S. TV rights contract for the massively popular men’s tournament pays the NCAA $870 million US this year alone. That’s $245 million more than the NHL makes annually from its American TV deals. The women’s tournament is rising in popularity and reportedly could fetch its own separate rights fees soon.
Though it’s a quintessentially American product, March Madness seems to be reaching across the border more than ever, now that Canada is a legit exporter of basketball talent. This year’s men’s bracket featured…
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