Why Is the NCAA Tournament Called March Madness?

min read
FILE - Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs (1) celebrates making the game winning basket against UCLA during overtime in a men's Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game, Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Gonzaga won 93-90. A few years ago, with the football-playing Mountain West Conference perennially knocking on the door, Gonzaga cut a deal with the WCC: It would stay in the hoops-only league if, instead of splitting things evenly, the conference would give the Zags a bigger share of its NCAA tournament proceeds based on how they performed in March. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
BetMGM @BETMGM Feb 26, 2023, 5:00 PM

The NCAA Tournament was first referred to as “March Madness” in 1982 when CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger used the term. But it was Henry V. Porter, an official with the Illinois High School Association, who first coined the term in a magazine in 1939.

“A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel,” he wrote. In 1942, he went back to the term in a poem called “Basketball Ides of March,” which including the line: “A sharp-shooting mite is king tonight/ The Madness of March is running.”

Porter’s initial reference came the same year the NCAA Tournament began, 1939. It was just an eight-team tournament that began with quarterfinals on March 17, 1939, and ended with the national championship – won by Oregon over Ohio State – on March 27.

 

College Basketball Parlays at BetMGM

From early-season tournaments through the national championship, you can bet on college basketball parlays at the best online sportsbook.

With daily basketball odds, tournament betting, and more, the best parlay betting experience is at BetMGM.

Sign in to your account today — or, if you don’t have an account, sign up today with a sportsbook welcome bonus — to start betting. And don’t forget to check updated sportsbook bonuses and promos each day of the year.

1500-pb-offer
About the Author

BetMGM

Read More @BETMGM

Our BetMGM editors and authors are sports experts with a wealth of knowledge of the sports industry at all levels. Their coverage includes sports news, previews and predictions, fun facts, and betting.

Our BetMGM editors and authors are sports experts with a wealth of knowledge of the sports industry at all levels. Their coverage includes sports news, previews and predictions, fun facts, and betting.