March Madness

March 27, 1939 the extremely popular phenomenon of March Madness began. 

This single round elimination tournament is one of the most closely followed sporting events today. Predictions are made. Money is bet. And caution is thrown to the wind. Because, as we saw last Friday, Duke lost. So many brackets, perhaps all of them, were ruined. 

The origin of this mad tournament was a game between the University of Oregon and Ohio State (U of O won, 46-33). The tournament is based on an invitation to participate. The first tournament was only The Final Four but then it grew to include eight teams. Ohio's coach, Harold Olsen, came up with the idea to hold a tournament between the top college basketball teams. (March Madness fans, take a moment to thank Olsen.)

This post-season playoff tournament is known as March Madness because anything can happen. There are some teams, which people can count on to make it to the Sweet Sixteen, the Final Four and possibly even the Championship Game. But there are always upsets. Every team wants to go dancing in the Big Dance and some Cinderella teams make it, and they can even make it big. These upsets are what make the tournament so crazy.

While there have been upsets, there are teams that consistently win. UCLA Bruins have won the championship 11 times followed by the University of Kentucky with its seven championships. Most March Madness fans watch the men's tournament, but there is also a women's tournament. However, the women's tournament did not start until 1982. 

This year, the Lady Griz made it to the second round while the Griz did not. Both mens and women's teams at UM have made it to the second round before but no farther.