Prairie View A&M’s First Four matchup against Lehigh tonight carries far more weight than a single NCAA Tournament victory. A win could mean a significant financial boost—both for the Panthers and for the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
As March Madness tips off this week, conferences stand to cash in on a unique NCAA revenue-sharing formula known as the “unit” system. Conferences earn a unit for each game their teams play in the men’s tournament, with each unit translating into sizable payments spread out over several years. For 2026, the men’s tournament will distribute more than $270 million, according to Sports Business Journal.
Each unit, worth roughly $2 million, is paid to a conference in annual installments of about $350,000 over six years. The farther a team advances, the more money its league brings in to distribute among member schools.
That makes tonight’s game a potential payday for Prairie View and the SWAC. The same opportunity awaits Tennessee State, which faces Iowa State in its NCAA debut, and the Southern and Howard women’s teams, who both qualified for the women’s tournament for the SWAC and MEAC, respectively.
Though the women’s tournament generates a smaller pool—$15 million last year, with each unit worth around $113,000—the payout structure mirrors the men’s tournament, with funds distributed over three years.
For Prairie View A&M and its HBCU peers, one March win could mean more than a spot in the next round—it could mean real dollars flowing back into their programs.
