March Madness is all about the chaos that comes with it, and that means the unexpected happens more times than not. The buzzer beaters and crazy shots are still taking place, but what truly makes it an amazing month are the Cinderella stories that occur from the mid-major programs that make the tournament.
This is the second straight season that no mid-majors are in the Sweet 16, and Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd was asked about his thoughts on the topic.
“I think that parity is great for the game, but things change,” Lloyd said. “I think once finances become part of it, there’s gonna be a breaking point for some of the lesser programs that just don’t have the finances. And that’s just an obvious statement. There's a lot of reasons I took the Arizona job, and one of them was forecasting these things happening. Because right when I was getting the job, the NIL deal was rumored, and it started in July, and I figured Arizona had a strong, long basketball tradition, and they're going to be excited to invest in basketball. And we have.”
Tommy Lloyd on no mid-majors in the Sweet 16:
“I think that parity is great for the game, but things change. I think once finances become part of it, there’s gonna be a breaking point for some of the lesser programs that just don’t have the finances. And that’s just an obvious… pic.twitter.com/xmcemcP9Cd
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 23, 2026
Lloyd mentioned that he was at Gonzaga before he took the Arizona job, which was a mid-major program that turned into a major. He does have a point that finances play a big part in it, and NIL deals have made it difficult for mid-major programs to see much success because they're in competition with schools with more money.
It will be interesting to see if this is the trend moving forward, and if mid-majors will decide to invest more into basketball.
