INDIANAPOLIS -- Every year it's estimated that millions of dollars in productivity is lost as basketball fans keep tabs on the NCAA tournament, but a Butler University professor said the numbers are not necessarily realistic.

An annual survey by Chicago-based placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. predicts this year's tournament will cost employers as much as $1.8 billion during the first week of play, 6News' Renee Jameson reported.

Special Section: NCAA Tournament

The number is based on the estimated 58 million fans expected to take part in office pools, assuming each devotes at least 20 minutes to watching the games.

But Bill O'Donnell, the director of graduate programs at Butler University, said he's skeptical of the math used to compute the annual prediction.

"My first reaction is to laugh," he said. "I think the numbers are fantasy numbers … I wouldn't bother slapping a number on it."

He said many people have jobs where they don't have access to the Internet, are blocked from going to certain sites or may spend time on non-work related activities anyway.

Some basketball fans defended their tourney time rituals, insisting they can still be productive while keeping their brackets up to date.

"Certainly people get on the Internet to do things, but in this day and age, people can multi-task, be on the Internet and get a couple things done at the same time," said Richard Buchbri. "I think you want to keep everybody happy."

O'Donnell said the NCAA tournament could also provide a common ground for co-workers.

"I'd encourage employers to embrace it. Have some fun with it," he said. "Use this as an opportunity to let employees understand this could be a fun place to work."

Lost productivity or not, the tournament will mean big bucks for Indianapolis, where the Final Four will be held in April. In 2006, the event brought in $40 million.