Forget about "March Madness presented by American Express" or the "Pepsi Division I Men's Basketball Championship." Despite the proliferation of corporate branding throughout the sports world, NCAA officials insist there never will be a title sponsor for college basketball's prestigious postseason tournament.

Should the NCAA try to cash in with a multimillion-dollar naming-rights deal for college sports' most watched tournament, it would risk devaluing a bigger cash cow -- the packaging of corporate sponsorships for 87 other championship tournaments, according to Greg Shaheen, the NCAA managing director of the Division I men's basketball championship. At stake would be at least $80 million that Host Communications, the NCAA's marketing partner, has generated over the past five years.

Under the NCAA Corporate Partner Program, 16 companies with household names such as Pepsi, General Motors and Sears Roebuck & Co., pay between $1.8 million and $4 million annually to associate their brands with 87 championship tournaments -- such as hockey's Frozen Four and the College World Series. Included in the package are marketing and licensing rights to the Division I men's basketball tournament, but not college football's postseason bowl games.

	“	The NCAA championships are much like the Olympic games in that there is virtually no signage inside the arena so that the focus is on the amateur athletes. ”
		— Mark Kidd, Host Communications

"If we were to allow a title sponsor for the men's tournament alone, I think we'd be accused of making the tournament overcommercialized," said Mark Kidd, chief operating officer of Host Communications, which has sold NCAA sponsorships since the program began in 1984-85. "The NCAA championships are much like the Olympic games in that there is virtually no signage inside the arena so that the focus is on the amateur athletes."

Beginning in September, revenue generated from the Corporate Partner Program will go to CBS and ESPN, as part of the new broadcast rights deals for the men's basketball tournament. Currently, corporate sponsors receive NCAA championship tickets for marketing purposes and can use the NCAA and NCAA Championship trademarks and names for promotional purposes. Starting in the 2002-03 academic calendar, as part of the bundled package with the television networks, corporate partners also will receive media exposure, including radio and television advertising, for the first time in the history of the program.

Eric Wright, a media analyst with Joyce Julius and Associates, estimates that a title sponsorship of the Division I men's basketball tournament would be worth at least $40 million annually in media exposure for a company. But Dean Bonham, a consultant specializing in naming rights deals, said the overall value of corporate partnerships in the existing structure would outweigh the financial benefits of selling a title sponsorship.

Bonham, who has analyzed the NCAA Corporate Partner Program, also said that while a title sponsorship might be worth $40 million to a company, such a sponsorship wouldn't fetch near that price. Bonham said the naming rights to the tournament could sell for more than $5 million a year, "but a lot less than $40 million."

But the price tag wouldn't necessarily be a deal-breaker. Gilco Sports' David Cope, whose company structured the second-largest stadium naming rights deal in history for the Redskins' FedEx Field (27 years, $205 million), said even in the days of reduced corporate spending, it wouldn't be hard to find a company willing to pay what likely would be the highest annual naming rights fee in sports history.

Nevertheless, companies can still get involved with March Madness by buying rights to other NCAA postseason tournaments, such as conference championships and the National Invitation Tournament. For example, petroleum company Phillips 66 is the title sponsor of the Big 12 men's basketball tournament, and ConAgra Foods is the title sponsor of the Big East men's basketball tournament.

"The value of the advertising alone was worth it to us," said Tim McMahon, ConAgra's senior vice president of corporate communications and marketing. ConAgra received television commercials over the past three months and during this week's coverage of the Big East tournament on ESPN networks. Its name is also painted on the Madison Square Garden court, easily visible to TV viewers as the players run up and down the court.

	“	The title sponsorship of the NIT gives us the biggest bang for our buck for the 18-49 male demographic we're going after. ”
		— Lynne Hartzell, Owens Corning

This is the second straight year ESPN, which owns the marketing rights to the NIT, has sold a title sponsorship. Last year, the client was TiVo. This year, the tournament will be known as the 2002 Owens Corning NIT.

"The title sponsorship of the NIT gives us the biggest bang for our buck for the 18-49 male demographic we're going after," said Lynne Hartzell, director of marketing communications for Owens Corning. She said the total package, which includes advertising on ESPN radio and television broadcasts, cost more than $1 million.

Owens Corning will be mentioned regularly during broadcasts, and its name will be included in the tournament logo, which will be on everything from courtside chairs to the championship trophy and watches, according to NIT director Jack Powers.

But Mike Aresco, senior vice president of programming for CBS Sports -- which has been broadcasting the men's basketball championship since 1982 -- isn't worried about lost opportunities. Aresco said he doesn't see the lack of title sponsorship as untapped revenue that would help his network recoup some of the $6 billion it will pay the NCAA from 2003 to 2014 for the rights.

"Some events are so special and so big, like the Super Bowl and the U.S. Open, that they shouldn't have a title sponsor," Aresco said.

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn.com