Abilene Christian Basketball

March Madness upsets are fun for the players and fans, but they can also mean big money from the exposure for the school. 

Abilene Christian defeated Texas in one of the most surprising results in the first round of the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament. While the No. 14 seed's win over the No. 3 seed messed up many brackets, the combination of the victory and an appearance in the second round was worth nine figures and counting for the small West Texas university.

"So far we are close to $120 million-plus and we really haven't had time to tally up the totals," ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert told Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The Wildcats suffered a 20-point loss to UCLA in the second round, although simply facing another major program only added to the school's exposure.

As Schubert explained, tournament appearances lead to increased donations, increased applications and increased enrollment.

"There are other places a university can make significant steps, but I'd say nothing compares to the level of visibility and market value that comes with men's basketball, at least for us," he said.

Abilene Christian estimated its 2019 loss to Kentucky was worth $74 million.

The program has only been in Division I since 2013, but efforts like this go a long way in helping the school's growth.

Abilene Christian men's basketball head coach Joe Golding put things into perspective early Sunday morning after his 14-seeded Wildcats beat the No. 3 Texas Longhorns in the first round of the NCAA tournament Saturday night.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, Golding said: "We just beat the University of Texas, little old Abilene Christian out in West Texas. It's an incredible story. It's what March is all about."

In the last game of the tourney's first round, Abilene Christian prevailed 53-52 on the strength of two made free throws by Joe Pleasant with just 1.2 seconds remaining.

Texas led 28-23 at halftime, but it was clear that Abilene Christian was giving the Big 12 tournament champions all they could handle.

That manifested itself in the Wildcats' second-half comeback, which was spurred on largely by their swarming defensive style.

Abilene Christian shot only 29.9 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc, but it didn't matter because they threw up 27 more attempts from the field than Texas did.

The Wildcats forced Texas to turn over the ball a remarkable 23 times, and they also destroyed the Longhorns on the offensive glass, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds to only five for the Longhorns.

Texas is by far the more talented team, but Golding's squad played fundamentally sound basketball and pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament because of it.

This year's first round was one of the wildest in recent memory, with a No. 15 seed in Oral Roberts, a No. 14 seed in Abilene Christian and two No. 13 seeds in North Texas and Ohio all advancing to the round of 32.

Abilene Christian's win was extra special, though, since the small school knocked off the dominant university in its state on the biggest stage in college basketball.

Saturday marked the first men's NCAA tournament win in Abilene Christian history in only its second appearance, but Golding could have the Wildcats on the road to becoming a perennial tournament team.

They have reached the tourney in two of the past three years and won at least 20 games in three consecutive campaigns, which is no small feat for a team that finished .500 or worse in each of Golding's first five seasons at the helm.

The Southland Conference tournament champs will look to entrench themselves even more when they go on to face the 11th-seeded UCLA Bruins out of the Pac-12 in the next round.

Hopefully, the Abilene Christian roster has more depth than head coach Joe Golding's suit selection.

According to ESPN's Andrea Adelson, Golding ripped a hole in his pants while celebrating his team's Southland Conference tournament championship, clinching the program's NCAA tournament berth. By itself, that is not an issue. However, Golding only owns one suit—and it is now compromised.

"We got one suit place in town," Golding said during his media availability on Wednesday. "That's it, and they couldn't get it done. ... So, I got one suit, my man.

"I had two suits when the year started. I left one in the airport—true story. ... I'm coaching tomorrow in my baby blue suit, and I'm gonna have a hole in my butt, man. It is what it is, man." 

Whether Golding's holey suit is a March charm or a bad omen for 15-seed Abilene Christian (27-6) depends on the outcome of their first-round game against No. 2-seed Kentucky (27-6) on Thursday at 7 p.m. EST in Jacksonville, Florida.