Introduction
March Madness is one of if not the best sporting event held in America. The atmosphere and hype it brings to fans seems unmatched compared to other sporting events, as it occurs throughout the back end of March and the start of April, prolonging these fun experiences. The unification and inclusion created by this tournament, provides for the best American college playoff tournament of all time. With all this being said, how did March Madness start and become one of the greatest sporting events of all time, while being so different then all the other college playoff systems?
Where did the term “March Madness” originate?
Surprisingly, the term “March Madness” did not originate with the tournament itself. Instead, it was used back in 1939 where in Illinois school official, Henry Porter, used it as a synonym for basketball. “March Madness was not associated with the tournament until 1982, when the announcer, Brent Musberger, used it during the coverage of the tournament in 1982.
What about the tournament itself?
The first NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was played in 1939; however, only eight teams participated. Oregon beat out Ohio state to make them the first ever NCAA men’s college basketball champions. The NCAA tournament grew to 16 teams in 1951, doubled to 32 in 1975 and expanded to its current size of 64 teams in 1985. One Shining Moment, the anthem of March Madness, was first played following the NCAA men’s tournament in 1987 and was supposed to be run after Super Bowl XXI but the coverage of the super bowl ran long, meaning it was not played. The team with the most championships is UCLA with eleven including their seven title win streak between the years 1967 and 1973. Many upsets have been notable during the tournament with the top three being 15 seed St. Peters defeating number.2 Kentucky (2022), 16 seed Farleigh Dickinson beating number 1 Purdue (2023), and 16 seed UMBC miraculously beating number 1 Virginia, which was the first time ever a 16 seed beat a 1 seed.
Why is March Madness so different than other American college sport playoffs?
Essentially, while other college tournaments were solidifying their playoff tournaments and their styles, March Madness kept expanding as more teams came in. While some college sports like college Football are often criticized for the format of their playoffs, March Madness has been praised as a flawless tournament that provides many different teams with a chance at a national tournament run. Because of this it can capture a larger audience, as people are constantly looking and watching games to see if their team wins. Also, the bracket formation of the tournament provides for is perfect, as it allows for a unique style of predicting and sports betting on which teams will go far and which will not.
Additional facts about the tournament.
Duke owns the largest comeback and second-largest lead blown in NCAA tournament history. The 2001 Blue Devils fought back to beat Maryland after being down 22 points while Duke’s 1989 team lost despite leading by 18 points against Seton Hall. Christian Laettner, Duke, is the NCAA tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 407 points, while only nine players have more than 300 points in March Madness history. Notre Dame’s Austin Carr is not among them, but he holds March Madness single-game scoring record with 61 points in a 1970 game against Ohio. Loyola Marymount is part of the three highest scoring games in NCAA tournament history. The Lions’ 149-115 win over Michigan in 1990 is the highest scoring game in March Madness. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has the most NCAA tournament wins by a single coach, 101.
Benjamin Saylor
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