How the NCAA Evolved Into a Basketball Powerhouse Start Your Brackets! It’s March Madness
The First March Madness Champions Before UConn, Kansas, UCLA, Baylor, and Virginia became NCAA men’s basketball champions, the University of Oregon paved the way. On March 27, 1939, the University of Oregon defeated Ohio State University, 46–33. Ohio State’s star forward, Jimmy Hull, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player — not bad for the 2007 Ohio Basketball Hall of Famer.
Many say Christmas is the most wonderful time of year. However, if you’re a college basketball fan, it’s safe to say that March Madness is your favorite! Millions of fans come out to support their favored teams and fill out brackets to select a national champion. But the history of college basketball’s biggest tournament might surprise you. Humble Beginnings March Madness originated in Illinois as an annual high school tournament sponsored by the Illinois High School Association. It went from a small invitational in 1908 to over 900 schools participating by the late 1930s. It wasn’t until 1939 that high school official Henry V. Porter referred to the tournament as “March Madness.” The Emergence of Colleges in the Hunt March Madness wasn’t nationally known or associated with the NCAA until CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger used the term while covering the 1982 spring tournament. Since then, the term has been synonymous with the event, and college basketball has never been the same.
Evolution of Tournament Expansions Only eight teams played in the 1939 tournament; by 1951, the number of teams doubled to 16. It wasn’t until 1985 that the 64-team tournament emerged. The last tournament expansion was in 2011, with 68 teams participating in college basketball’s big dance. March Madness Today March Madness isn’t exactly what it used to be 40 years ago, from the hoopla and controversy of Selection Sunday (March 16 this year) to the chaos and parity caused by NIL (athletes’ pay for “name, image, and likeness”). Nonetheless, the tournament’s foundational values of camaraderie mixed with a bit of friendly competition and, of course, the love of watching basketball remain as prominent as ever.
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Going into 2025, federal employees are asking many questions about what will
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