Another March, another “Cinderella” run.

Five years ago, George Mason’s surge through the NCAA men’s basketball tournament became the textbook definition for mid-major success in an era of power conference domination. By now you know of Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) shocking march from a First Four play-in game to the Final Four in Houston. The irony is that, much like Mason in 2006, VCU entered the tournament having received an at-large bid and the No. 11 seed in its region.

Funny how college basketball works. Just two months ago, its at-large hopes were given a near-death blow having lost to, of all teams, Northeastern. This week, the Rams are two victories away from a national championship. That 91-80 win for the Huskies at Matthews Arena was the last for NU in a four-game win streak.

The Huskies wound up losing in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament, mercifully ending the worst men’s basketball season in nearly a decade. The Rams made an unexpected run to the championship game (sound familiar), beating eventual at-large selection George Mason along the way.

The other irony of VCU’s run is that Northeastern will benefit in many ways from each scalp the Rams have claimed on their run to the Final Four. Sure, it was an awful season to be a men’s basketball fan here on Huntington Avenue, but each improbable win for VCU means more attention for the CAA and more revenue for Northeastern.

Here’s how it works:

A good chunk of the NCAA’s massive $10.8 billion dollar television rights deal with Turner and CBS is shared with member conferences (and, consequentially, member schools). For each qualifier for the NCAA tournament (the conference champion, as well as at-large bids), as well as every win from each team thereafter, “units” of payout money are given to the conference, to be dispersed over a six-year period. This year, a “unit” is worth around $1.45 million, or $242,000 per annum. From this year’s performance alone, the CAA has already earned nine “units,” or $2.2 million in revenue each year for the next six years, on top of revenue from the past five seasons.

From that revenue, the CAA distributes 60 percent equally, and 40 percent weighted through certain performance markers, such as finishing above .500 in out of conference play or having an RPI, or strength of schedule rank in the top 100. Using that math, Northeastern, having finished 11-20, gets to take home a cool $110,000 from this year alone, not to mention the money from other years.

Even beyond the financial ramifications, Northeastern gets to sell itself to potential recruits as a member of a conference that sent three teams to the NCAA tournament, including one that went to the Final Four. But the story gets better:  Imagine if VCU somehow wins the national championship. Given its incredible run thus far, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. If that’s the case, Northeastern is guaranteed to be playing against the defending national champions, and for that matter could wind up getting a home game.

Regardless of what the Rams do this weekend, it’s been a lot of fun to watch. Richmond is in a state of delirium, and the players, fans, coaches – even the sports information folks – are getting treated to an experience of a lifetime. Huskies fans quietly root on, secretly jealous of what the Rams have been able to accomplish and the attention they are receiving. There’s no greater indicator of why winning in basketball is important – everyone in the country is talking about VCU. That kind of positive attention can’t be bought, but if the commitment to win is made, a run like this isn’t unrealistic to pull off. One can only hope that President Joseph Aoun is watching closely.