It’s every basketball fan’s favorite time of year: The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament. Brackets are filled out, bets are made and the ESPN channel is always streaming. Every year the anticipation for the tournament rises, but when did the tournament start?
March Madness started as a high school boy’s basketball tournament in Illinois in 1908, and it continued to grow until it reached the National Association of Basketball Coaches who hosted the first NCAA DI tournament in 1939 in Evanston, Illinois. There were only eight teams, with the Oregon Webfoots, now known as the University of Oregon Ducks, coming on top, winning the title.
Although the tournament started in 1939, the title “March Madness” didn’t grow until the 1950s, eventually getting trademarked in 1989. The tournament continued to grow every year, with more views, more bets, and even more upsets.
But what about the women’s tournament? Their first NCAA DI tournament began around 1982, with Louisiana Tech winning over Cheyney 76-62. Over the years, the women’s tournament grew, with more and more views of women’s basketball.
Last year, Angel Reese’s LSU Tigers faced Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Tigers came out on top, but there was more to celebrate than just a championship winner. That single game alone got 18.7 million views, more than the men’s championship, who had 14.82 million viewers. That was a pivotal moment in women’s basketball history. It grew the popularity of the women’s tournament. Will there be more breaking numbers this year?
The 2024 men’s tournament ended with the men’s UConn team playing Purdue and winning the championship 75-60. That was UConn’s 6th championship, marking this another championship game they have won that they have participated in.
The brackets are always released a few days before the tournament, on Selection Sunday. This year the top contenders for the men are Duke, Florida, Auburn, and Houston, all getting the #1 seed in their region and for the women UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and USC get the top seeds. Let the madness begin!
