March Madness 101

As March is quickly approaching, that also means the start of March Madness. March Madness 2023 is set to run from March 14 to April 3. So you may have heard plenty about this March Madness tournament, but what really is it? It’s an event that’s held every year from March to April and is one of the most-watched sporting tournaments in the United States! 

HISTORY OF MARCH MADNESS

The history of March Madness dates back in the United States to the 1930s. In 1939, the first NCAA men’s basketball tournament was held. Only eight teams were participating, and the tournament was won by the University of Oregon, who defeated Ohio State in the final round. The tournament gained popularity as the years went on, and more and more teams began to join it. To date, more than 60 teams play in the exciting annual basketball tournament. So where did the phrase March Madness come from? It was first used to describe the tournament in the CBS coverage of the event in 1982. CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger used the term March Madness to describe the basketball frenzy and it quickly caught on and is still used to this day to describe the event. 

SO WHAT ABOUT THE TEAMS?

Today, the tournament no longer features only 8 teams that play, but 68 teams that are selected by a committee based on their overall performance throughout the season. The teams are then divided into four regions based on geography: South, East, West, and Midwest. Then these four regions are further divided in a process called seeding. Each team is assigned a number, 1-68, naming them the strongest or weakest team among the others. Then come the seed lines. There are 16 total seed lines, with each of the first 15 lines containing 4 teams and the final 16th line containing 6 teams. 

HOW DO THEY DECIDE WHO PLAYS?

The next important term is bracketing. Bracketing the field means separating the teams in the four regions even further, into pods. Each region will contain 4 pods. The first pod includes teams 1, 8, 9, and 16. The second pod includes teams 4, 5, 12, and 13. And so on. Each of the four regions also includes eight locations within each of these regions. The committee chooses the site for the first and second rounds in each of the four locations. Finally, after the committee has separated the teams into regions, each of those teams into their respective pods and each pod has been assigned a location site to play in, Selection Sunday will then officially be underway!

SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT MARCH MADNESS

1. The term March Madness was initially coined by an Illinois High School basketball official in 1939, where the tournament began, but the name did not catch on until CBS sports broadcaster Brent Musburger used it in 1982. 
2. The tournament (much like any other major sports event in the nation) generates over a billion dollars in revenue every year, specifically from television broadcasting. 
3. UCLA holds the record for the highest number of NCAA men’s basketball championships. They hold 11 titles. The University of Kentucky has the most wins in tournament history, however they currently hold 131 victories. 
4. 2020 was the first year the tournament was not held and was canceled in its almost century king history, due to the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
5. The first NCAA women’s basketball tournament (also known as March Madness) was held first in 1982, and although not as commercialized as men’s basketball, is still a major sporting event in the USA.