Bloomberg is once again holding its annual NCAA Charity Tournament.
On March 22, 2024 at 03:10 AM, this was posted.
The most recent update was on March 22nd, 2024 at 03:39 AM.
For the ninth year in a row, Bloomberg is organizing its March Madness Brackets for a Cause fundraising pool in support of various nonprofits and initiatives.
The conglomerate for business journalism and financial services requested the presence of top executives from Wall Street and prominent individuals from around the country to contribute $20K each towards the charitable March Madness competition. In exchange for the buy-in, participants are granted the opportunity to complete brackets for both the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments.
The top three points earners in each bracket will split the more than $1 million prize pool, with the proceeds going to their designated charity. The men’s and women’s NCAA Division 1 college basketball tournaments began on Thursday.
According to Bloomberg, 58 individuals took part in this year’s Brackets for a Cause event, with a combined total prize money of $1.16 million.
Unanimous Picks
It is possible that this year’s women’s tournament will have a lot of participants in equal standing, since all the entries have selected top-seeded South Carolina and Iowa to make it to the Final Four.
The University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team ended their regular season with a perfect record of 32-0, establishing themselves as the leading program in the country. The University of Iowa’s women’s team, who also received a No. 1 seed for March Madness, has been receiving a similar level of media coverage due to Caitlin Clark’s exceptional performance this season.
According to Bloomberg, every bracket predicts that both teams will advance to at least the semifinals.
Out of the 58 submissions, 40 of them predict that the Gamecocks will win the women’s Final Four at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, taking place from April 4-7. According to oddsmakers, South Carolina is expected to be the top contender for the national title. DraftKings has placed their odds at -140 for the Gamecocks.
“Once again, the majority of attendees predict that the South Carolina women’s team will emerge victorious and claim the championship trophy. This comes after an impressive record of only one loss in the past two seasons, against Iowa. However, a mere 14% believe that Iowa, led by the NCAA’s top scorer, Caitlin Clark, will be the ultimate victor,” stated Bloomberg, summarizing the predictions for the upcoming year.
Iowa is on eight entries, Norte Dame is on three, and LSU, UConn, and Stanford are on two. USC is on just one belonging to Apollo Global Management’s Jay Clayton.
30 out of the 58 competitors on the men’s side are predicting that the University of Connecticut will take home the championship for the second year in a row. DraftKings also has high expectations for UConn, with odds at +340 for their success.
Eight brackets have selected both UNC and Houston, while Purdue is chosen on four brackets. Three brackets have selected Tennessee, and two have selected Arizona. Only one bracket each has chosen Yale, Auburn, and Kentucky.
Tony Ressler, owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and Ares Management, had high hopes for Kentucky but their unexpected defeat against Oakland has dashed those dreams. As a result, Kentucky is out of the competition.
2023 Results
Last year’s champion in the men’s category was Stephen Pagliuca of Bain Capital, also co-owner of the NBA team Boston Celtics. He chose to use his earnings to contribute to the Reform Alliance.
Jamie Dinan, the CEO of York Capital Management, took second place and endorsed the Museum of the City of New York. Michelle Seitz, the Founder and CEO of MeydenVest Partners, placed third and backed Educate Girls.
In the category of women, the top spot was a tie between Carlyle CEO Harvey Schwartz and Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson, while Rocket Companies Chairman and NBA Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert placed third. Each of them showed their support for One Mind, Catalyst, and NF Forward, respectively.
