Miami (Ohio) men’s basketball coach Travis Steele spoke for mid-major schools everywhere when he said, “Don’t penalize us for people (who) aren’t willing to play us.”
The RedHawks barely made the 2026 NCAA Tournament after a 31-1 season, the kind of resume that’d earn a high-major team entry into the field of 68 without question. The main source of doubt regarding their bid was strength of schedule. Miami didn’t face a single high-major opponent during the regular season. Its NET ranking as of Selection Sunday was 64th.
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Miami tried to secure games with Wisconsin, BYU and Ohio State, among others, to no avail, according to Extra Points’ Matt Brown. Steele said the RedHawks didn’t finish their 2025-26 schedule until mid October.
Mid-major coaches in women’s basketball expressed similar frustrations while in Louisville for the first round. Vermont’s Alisa Kresge said she’s had a hard time securing home-and-home series with Power Four schools. Then-Rhode Island coach Tami Reiss said top mid-majors and some P4 programs like N.C. State “don’t duck,” but “no one will play us at home,” and “figuring out analytically how to get into the NCAA Tournament is probably the hardest part about scheduling.”
How did college basketball get here? To where Cinderella is barely able to wedge her glass slipper between the door and its frame? Her shoe is cracking under the pressure of NET rankings, revenue sharing and a college sports ecosystem that favors deep pockets.
As traditional stalwarts of both men’s and women’s basketball, how does Louisville consider finances when efforting to assemble the strongest NCAA Tournament resumes possible?
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Maximizing revenue and strength of schedule
Louisville women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz used to take his team to schools like UT Martin, Missouri State and Middle Tennessee for games. UofL is nestled in a region full of quality mid-major programs he likes to schedule. But nowadays, it’s harder to justify going on the road “when we’re going to lose gate and ticket sales here.”
“We need to play as many home games as we can, especially with the draw that we get in our fan base,” he added. “So, yes, some might be like, ‘Well, you aren’t willing to go play at Western Kentucky.’ Well, that’s a home game that I’m losing. We used to do that all the time. … Now it’s more difficult, because there are finances involved and big numbers.”
When it comes to assembling a schedule, University of Louisville Athletic Association chief financial officer Heidi Huebner told The Courier Journal she doesn’t have to remind Walz or men’s basketball coach Pat Kelsey to consider the financials. They know the world they’re operating in. One where everyone in college sports is looking to maximize their revenue.
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January through April is when Huebner and her team craft a budget for the following season. There are some staples they can build a proposal around — the conference slate, ACC/SEC Challenge, the men’s team’s multi-year agreement with the Players Era — while leaving room for exhibitions, non-conference foes and so-called “buy games” (also known as “guarantee games,” as in “guaranteed win”). They give the proposal to the coaches, who fill it out, and then both sides meet for a holistic review.
“When it gets to their games that they’re proposing, we just look at all the elements that go into if it’s a home or an away game,” Huebner said. “And then really just talk through all of the games with them and get an understanding of why they’re pitching certain ones. And then it is a conversation on the revenue side of, what does that look like if we’re going to have these certain home games or not? It’s a push and pull in weighing both of those and making sure our coaches feel like they can do what they need to be competitive.”
Without speaking on Walz or Kelsey’s behalf, Huebner said NET is the biggest priority. Then it’s about finding revenue opportunities wherever possible. Sometimes that means opting for a neutral-site game with guaranteed money as opposed to a road game with nothing in it.
“It’s not like we look at these schedules and we’re like, ‘Nope, we’re not going to go play lower-level opponents or smaller D-Is on the road. It’s more like, ‘Can we get something out of a different game at a neutral site?’”
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‘You can’t sharpen your teeth eating oatmeal’ — try the NET instead
Louisville men’s basketball lost one game between Dec. 21, 2024, and March 14, 2025. And as a reward, it was given a No. 8 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament — about one or two seeds lower than Kelsey felt it deserved. “You felt slighted a little bit,” he said.
In 2025-26, he assembled a schedule the selection committee would have to respect. Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Baylor, Arkansas, Memphis and Cincinnati. On top of having to play Duke twice in conference play.
“What I want to do is make sure that, when we get there and the selection committee is looking at us, they know one thing: Louisville didn’t duck the smoke,” Kelsey said last summer. “You can’t sharpen your teeth eating oatmeal. Whether it ends up being the best strategy in the world, I don’t know; but that’s what we decided. Bring it.”
Mar 18, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey answer questions during the press conference ahead of the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
The 2017-18 college hoops season was the last in which RPI was used to help determine NCAA tournament seeding. RPI, or the Ratings Power Index, is made up of three criteria: team winning percentage, average opponents’ winning percentage and average opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage. The current system, NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings, takes the following into account: game results, strength of schedule, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency and the quality of wins and losses (Quad 1-4).
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Purdue coach Matt Painter said he’s “wired” to “do what’s best for the NET,” and called anyone not taking it into consideration when scheduling a “bozo.” But mid-major coaches, in complaining about not being able to get P4 schools on their schedule, are thinking about NET as well.
Everyone, regardless of conference affiliation, wants to do whatever it takes to improve their seeding. Because better seeding often means more favorable matchups. And more favorable matchups often means more wins. And more wins means there’s more basketball to be played, more national exposure, more units in their pockets.
Perhaps the most astute part of Painter’s answer comes down to these 11 words: “You are going to do what is best for your institution.”
What the numbers say about Cinderella and the reign of chalk
Cinderella, always the belle of March Madness’ ball, is what fans treasure most about this time of year. But lately, she’s had trouble making the guest list. Some blame the transfer portal. Others say refinements to selection criteria (including greater emphasis on strength of schedule) make for more accurate seedings and thus fewer upsets. But one thing is certain: the last couple NCAA Tournaments have felt more predictable than years past.
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Let the reign of chalk begin.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MARCH 28: Head coach Jeff Walz of the Louisville Cardinals gestures during the first quarter against the Michigan Wolverines in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 28, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Viewership of the NCAA Tournament as a whole isn’t down, but numbers in later rounds reflect the odd beaters’ absence. The last double-digit mid-major seed to make the men’s Sweet 16 was Princeton, which averaged 4.4 million viewers on cable in its loss to Creighton in 2023. The year before that, Saint Peter’s had 10 million people tune in for its Sweet 16 upset of Purdue. The most-watched Sweet 16 game in 2025 — Duke-Arizona — averaged 6.57 million viewers.
During the 2017-18 season, 18 current SEC and ACC men’s basketball member teams made the NCAA Tournament. Those 18 teams combined for 160 games against non-P4 opponents, which is nine more than this season. Those numbers shrink significantly, though, when one discounts Big East schools like UConn, Xavier, Providence and Georgetown.
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Just over 6% (10) of those 160 men’s games were true road contests — twice as many as 2025-26 — and 20% (32) were on neutral courts, significantly higher than the 12.6% (19) of games this season.
The 18 current SEC and ACC women’s teams that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament combined for 157 games — 23 fewer than in 2025-26. Of those 157 games, 22.3% (35) were on the road — more than the 17.8% (32) this season — and 13.4% (21) were on neutral courts, higher than the 11.1% (20) this year.
The numbers of this admittedly-small sample size point toward a reality where P4 schools are playing fewer games against mid-majors and even fewer games at mid-majors. Which makes it harder for those smaller schools to ingratiate themselves with the selection committee and gain entry into the biggest event of the season.
What’s best for basketball?
Louisville athletics director Josh Heird is wrapping up his fourth season in a five-year term on the NCAA women’s selection committee. He sees schools and conferences get bogged down by trying to find the perfect mathematical equation to seeding success. But after four years in the room where it happens, Heird’s advice is simple: Win games.
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A team can put together an entertaining slate full of heavyweight opponents, but it has to win those matchups for it to matter — just ask Auburn men’s basketball, which missed the tournament despite campaigning heavily on having played more Quad 1 games than anyone in the country.
When Heird and Kelsey talk about scheduling, they emphasize the importance of matchups fans want to see. NET is important, but so are ticket sales (UofL reported $14.55 million revenue in men’s basketball and $925,338 in women’s basketball during fiscal year 2025) and viewership numbers (Louisville was the No. 1-rated market for men’s and women’s college hoops this season, according to Nielsen). Especially after the ACC changed its revenue-sharing model to distribute 60% based on football and men’s basketball ratings from the past five years.
Buy games are still important, though, to get one’s team acclimated. In women’s basketball, Heird told The Courier Journal UofL may pay a mid-major school $20-30,000 to come to the KFC Yum! Center and make $75,000 off the game between ticket sales, concessions and the like. So, yes, the more home games, the better for the bottom line.
Against mid-majors and peer institutions, schools are agreeing to more neutral-site games across college athletics because they often make the most financial sense. Everyone’s happy because they split gate revenue. Louisville men’s basketball has two multi-year (2025-26) neutral-site contracts with neighboring rivals Cincinnati and Indiana. And UofL football will play Ole Miss in Nashville this fall.
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Walz is different, though, Heird said. The 19-year head coach still likes to play at mid-major schools when he can because “Jeff will truly do what’s better for the game.” A mindset that’s become rare in college athletics these days.
Take the conversations around College Football Playoff and NCAA Tournament expansion. The aim: Smother Cinderella by creating more opportunities for P4 programs.
“I’m gonna advocate for ‘the little guy,’” Heird said. “I think it’s one of the differentiators of college sports and pro sports. … Where I struggle is rewarding the 5-11 Power Four team. You’re 5-11 in your conference. You don’t deserve to be in the postseason.
“I understand from a financial standpoint to expand the tournament. People are gonna watch it. TV’s gonna pay for it. Do we have the depth in women’s basketball? That’s a tough one.”
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Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com and follow her on X @petitus25. Subscribe to her “Full-court Press” newsletter here for a behind-the-scenes look at how college sports’ biggest stories are impacting Louisville and Kentucky athletics.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball approach to building strong March Madness resume
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