Dusty May And Michigan Were The Second-Biggest Winners Behind Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 04: Elliot Cadeau #3 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts while playing against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) Getty Images Courtesy of a suffocating inside attack on both offense and defense, the Wolverines didn’t blow all of its double-digit lead in the second half Monday night through sloppy play and awful shooting. They survived UConn 69-63 down the stretch of the Final Two inside Lucas Oil Stadium, and just like that, Michigan had a national championship in basketball, not football, which stirs the most emotions around Ann Arbor.

For verification, “The Victors” was composed in 1898 as the school’s fight song with only blocking and tackling in mind. So the Wolverines winning it all in hoops for only the second time in history was interesting, even fascinating, but not as much as this: Where it happened. It occurred in the city that went nearly overnight within the last five decades from outsiders calling it “Naptown” and “Indian-no-place” to its real name of “Indianapolis,” while sprinting toward becoming the world’s greatest city at hosting huge sporting events on a consistent basis.

Well, so it seemed for those of us in Indianapolis, not only for this Final Four, but for many of those other national and international events held within these city limits since the early 1980s. Economists would agree with us. And this goes beyond that 500-mile race which has occurred at the end of May inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway every year since 1911 (except for the two World Wars).

According to the NCAA and the Indiana Sports Corporation, the 2026 Final Four -- combined with the championship basketball games for Division II, Division III and the NIT also in town this weekend -- to bring an economic payout of around $400 million to the Indianapolis area. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 03: Fans walk outside the stadium during the Practice Day of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 03, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Getty Images That’s the third-highest total in Final Four history.