Brandon Podgorski, the head of Trine University’s Center for Sports Studies, sees the Final Four of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments as proof of how sports can bring Americans together.

“In a time when it feels like we’re losing things that connect us culturally, sports are still something we all share,” Podgorski said. “Anyone can join in by filling out a bracket – you don’t need to know much about basketball. Even if you lose a game, there’s always another chance right after. It’s four days of fun.”

He noted that the tournament’s TV ratings have been good for more than 40 years. “People enjoy filling out brackets and watching surprising wins,” he said. “And with online sports betting becoming more common, I think even more people will tune in.”

Podgorski doesn’t think players leaving college early for the NBA has hurt the tournament much. He said winning teams still have a lot of older players.

But he thinks new rules about players making money from their names and images, along with the transfer portal, have changed college basketball a lot.