The History of March Madness by Vernon Croy

by: Vernon Croy

Just about everyone has heard of the NCAA March Madness, even if they themselves do not get overly involved in it. But not too many people really understand the great history that lies behind this tournament. To truly have an understanding of what it is and to have the best appreciation possible of it, you must look back through history to see what it is all about. Once you see what the NCAA March Madness has been through and how it evolved, you will be able to really get into it and get more excited about this Basketball Tournament then you ever thought you could be.

Just as wine gets better with age, the NCAA Tournament, first started in 1908, has proven to get better and better each and every year that it continues on. It actually did not start with college teams though and it was originally the Illinois High School Association that sponsored a boy's basketball tournament. By the late 1930's, about seventy years ago, the championship was a modest one that was nothing more than an eight-team tournament that played out in Evanston Illinois. Why the small number of teams- Was it because the lack of schools or the lack of active students- The answer to those questions is a simple no. The reason for the smaller amount of teams back in the beginning was because of another tournament that was snatching up all of the elite teams. The NIT, a tournament considered back then to be more prestigious, was the game taking up the entire spotlight.

Once the teams starting taking notice and playing in both tournaments, the NCAA Tournament started to get a little bit of their overdue recognition in the mid 1950's. But who got to play- That was the big debate in the early times of March Madness. Since only one team from each conference was allowed to play in the NCAA Tournament there would be a lot of discussion, concern, and often times debate on who the real college basketball champions were. Thankfully, though, there was an expansion of the tournament, which allowed smaller schools the opportunity to better recruit which meant the chance at the big money. That big money was enough to make a big dent in the funding requirements of a whole university.

The national interest in this tournament was really starting to increase and it expanded to sixteen teams. The first televised championship game was between LaSalle and Bradley in 1954. By 1975, there was yet again another expansion to 32 teams. And then by the early 1980's, the NCAA tournament was finally considered to be the most superior basketball tournament for college teams. Even though there was such recognition for the NCAA Tournament, it was not until 1985, that the tournament was again expanded to the sixty-four teams that we are used to.

With so many teams playing, there was the introduction of sub-brackets. Each bracket held sixteen teams. The teams play against each other until they are cut down to the "Sweet Sixteen", or the last sixteen teams. From there they play until they are done to the remaining eight teams, which was cleverly named the "Elite Eight". Then there is the "Final Four" who play until the champions are named.

The NCAA March Madness Tournament made headlines in 1991 when CBS dished out an incredible dollar amount to be able to televise the tournament for the following seven years. This cost CBS over a billion dollars which set the standards for buying rights in the world of television broadcasting. With all of the fuss and glory over the years, it is no wonder that people are still completely intrigued by the March Madness that we have all grown to love. Over the years, since 1939, March Madness has been tracked, watched, studied, and enjoyed by those who love the game and love the feel of the tournament.

Here is a detailed list of who won each March Madness Tournament since 1939:

YEAR WINNERS
1939 – Oregon
1940 – Indiana
1941 – Wisconsin
1942 – Stanford
1943 – Wyoming
1944 – Utah
1945 – Oklahoma A&M
1946 – Oklahoma A&M
1947 – Holy Cross
1948 – Kentucky
1949 – Kentucky
1950 – CCNY
1951 – Kentucky
1952 – Kansas
1953 – Indiana
1954 – La Salle
1955 – San Francisco
1956 – San Francisco
1957 – North Carolina
1958 – Kentucky
1959 – California
1960 – Ohio St.
1961 – Cincinnati
1962 – Cincinnati
1963 – Loyola (Ill.)
1964 – UCLA
1965 – UCLA
1966 – UTEP
1967 – UCLA
1968 – UCLA
1969 – UCLA
1970 – UCLA
1971 – UCLA
1972 – UCLA
1973 – UCLA
1974 – NC State
1975 – UCLA
1976 – Indiana
1977 – Marquette
1978 – Kentucky
1979 – Michigan State
1980 – Louisville
1981 – Indiana
1982 – North Carolina
1983 – NC State
1984 – Georgetown
1985 – Villanova
1986 – Louisville
1987 – Indiana
1988 – Kansas
1989 – Michigan
1990 – UNLV
1991 – Duke
1992 – Duke
1993 – North Carolina
1994 – Arkansas
1995 – UCLA
1996 – Kentucky
1997 – Arizona
1998 – Kentucky
1999 – Connecticut
2000 – Michigan State
2001 – Duke
2002 - Maryland
2003 – Syracuse
2004 – Connecticut
2005 – North Carolina
2006 – Florida
2007 – Florida
2008 – Kansas

Who will the winner be of the NCAA March Madness Championship for 2009- No one knows yet but hopefully your favorite team will make it again or make it for the first time in the NCAA Tournament history. Let's wait and see who will be a part of history this year. There is no telling what will happen but as anyone who follows the NCAA March Madness Tournament can agree with, it will surely be exciting and something that cannot be missed.

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