As March returns, it brings many things: spring break, warm weather, but most excitingly, March Madness! March Madness is the annual, single-elimination Division 1 Men’s (and Women’s) Basketball tournament. The tournament consists of 68 teams that compete throughout all of March and into April to determine the national champion. March Madness takes over social media platforms yearly with coverage of the tournament, and millions of bracket predictions are turned in each year. From buzzer beaters to historic Cinderella runs, March Madness accounts for many of the most unforgettable moments in sports. However, the tournament that captivates millions each spring has not always looked the same: here’s how the tournament grew from a small postseason competition into the national spectacle fans know today.
The first ever D1 men’s basketball tournament was held in 1939, which consisted of only eight teams. Oregon was the first ever tournament champion after defeating Ohio State for the title. The tournament field grew to 16 teams in 1951, doubled to 32 in 1975, and expanded to its current size of 68 teams in 1985. While we all know (and lovingly call) the tournament as “March Madness”, this term did not become coined with the event until it was used sparingly during coverage of the 1982 tournament. 31 teams automatically qualify for the tournament by winning their conference championships, the National Invitation Tournament makes up the other 37 teams. The National Invitation Tournament (or NIT) is operated by the NCAA, but it is separate from the D1 men’s basketball tournament. The NIT was actually founded the year before the tournament, but did not gain as much popularity as the NCAA tournament. The NIT’s field is usually made up of the top Division I teams that did not receive an invitation to the NCAA tournament.
The term “Cinderella Run” describes teams that advance surprisingly far during the tournament. Cinderella Runs are one of the most anticipated parts of March Madness, as it excites fans to see the upsets. One of the first major Cinderella Runs from the last two decades of the tournament was George Mason University in 2006. The Patriots entered the tournament with a record of 23-7, and they were the first double digit seed to reach the Final Four since the 1986 LSU Tigers. In 1983, North Carolina State was a six seed in the tournament, which is unusually high to be considered a Cinderella, but N.C. State shocked the nation when they earned the 1983 National Champion Title. To this day, the 1986 Louisiana State Tigers are the only 11 seed in history to beat a 1, 2, and 3 seed in the same tournament. The Tigers were also the first 11 seed to reach the Final Four. Moving to more recent runs, Florida Gulf Coast was a 15 seed in 2013, and was the first 15 seed to ever reach the Sweet 16, although they unfortunately lost to the University of Florida after earning this title. In 2018, Loyola Chicago followed in the 1986 Tigers footsteps, and was marked the most recent 11 seed to reach the Final Four. The team jarred the nation as they pulled off continuous upsets throughout the tournament. Loyola defeated historically good teams, including Tennessee, Miami, Nevada, and Kansas State, but unfortunately fell to Michigan during the Final Four rounds.
In addition to upsets and Cinderella Runs, another one of the main things that brings so much attention to March Madness are the brackets. It has become a tradition for fans to fill out tournament brackets with their predictions and enter them into office pools or Internet raffles with friends and coworkers. Studies have actually shown that American workers become less productive during March Madness, as large numbers of basketball fans frequently monitor the status of their brackets or discuss the tournament (or even watch the games) while on the job. However, this is actually a relatively new aspect of the tournament, and does not date back as far as the first NCAA tournament. According to the Smithsonian, the first bracket pool started in 1977 in a Staten Island bar, where 88 people filled out brackets and pitted them against each other. Since then, millions of brackets are filled out each year through online bracket games, and while it is impossible to accurately account for all the paper brackets filled out, it’s not hard to assume that number also ranks in the millions. While each of these brackets have a million possible outcomes, they each retain the same goal: to be perfect. Nobody in the history of the NCAA tournament has ever filled out a perfect bracket, and it is extremely unlikely that anybody ever will. The closest to “perfect” a bracket has ever gotten is 39 games. The odds of filling out a perfect bracket are so incredibly small that they are practically zero.
March Madness dates back an incredibly long time, but the traditions of it run incredibly strong. This year, the teams will be selected for the tournament on March 15, 2026 (“Selection Sunday”), and here are the dates as follows:
- First Four: March 17-18
- First Round: March 19-20
- Second Round: March 21-22
- Sweet 16: March 26-27
- Elite Eight: March 28-29
- Final Four: April 4
- Championship Game: April 6
Overall, March Madness is a tradition that has brought millions of college basketball fans together each spring for nearly 90 years. The tournament’s dramatic upsets, Cinderella Runs, buzzer beaters, and bracket predictions have made it one of the most anticipated sports events of the year. What started as a small postseason competition has now grown into a global phenomenon followed by millions.
You can play in the NCAA bracket challenge here after Selection Sunday.
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