Once you have read the following article about the long history of amateur
basketball and what has grown to become March Madness, please share your
thoughts with a comment at the end.
Early Days Of March Madness
John was working in Springfield, Massachusetts at a YMCA training to become
an administrator of the YMCA’s program. His challenge was to come up with a game
for a gym class that would be physically demanding and could be done inside
during the harsh winter months. His solution was to have two teams with 9
players on each team, use a soccer ball and use peach baskets. Basketball was
born.
When John Naismith was asked what the team members and their uniforms
looked like for the first games of his newly invented basketball, he said the
players were young men 23 to 30 year olds with mustaches who wore long trousers
and quarter sleeve jerseys with elk sole shoes and knew absolutely nothing about
the game.
17 years later, what began as a small invitational in 1908 for high
school boys basketball teams sponsored by the Illinois High School Association
would grow to a statewide competition with over 900 schools by the late 1930s.
In 1939 Henry V. Porter coined this tournament March Madness.
In the same year,
the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) held its first tournament
with 8 teams: Texas, Oklahoma, Villanova, Brown, Wake Forest, Oregon and Ohio
State in Patten Gym on the North western University in Evanston, Illinois.
As
a sort of crowd warmer before the first NCAA Championship Game was played
between Oregon and Ohio State, the fans were treated to a game from the old
days. Two twelve man teams from the North Western
Intramural’s all star team
tried to put a ball into a peach basket placed at both ends of the court using
the rules and conditions of the time when John N. invented basketball in
1891.
This Championship game would be the only NCAA final game John Naismith
would get to see as eight months later he would die at the age of 78.
The
trophy for the game was placed on a table court side so all could see it while
the game was played. Oregon’s team beat Ohio State in a close game but not
before their captain Bobby Anst would charge after a loose ball unable to stop,
knocking the trophy off the table and breaking it into two pieces. During the
awards ceremony the commissioner tried to hand it to Oregon with the piece
balancing on top but it fell off and they received it in two pieces.
In 1982
CBS Sports Commentator Brent Musburger quoted the NCAA tournament March Madness
which would set off a great legal battle between Illinois High
School
Association and NCAA. It would later be resolved that both
associations would have shared rights to the term.
Today the NCAA Tournaments
consists of 65 Men’s Teams and the Womens NCAA Tournament consists of 64 Womens
teams. The games are played for three weeks usually starting the third Thursday
of March and continuing through the first week of April.
Opening rounds for
the Men’s tournament consists between the 65 and 64th teams. Women do not have
these opening rounds since they have only 64 teams. In both Men’s and Womens
tournaments the first two days will play the 65 teams with winners bringing the
teams count to 32. The next two days games will bring the count to the Sweet
Sixteen. After which everyone will get a four day break until the next Thursday
where the 16 teams will play down to get the Final Four teams in each
tournament.
The Men’s Final Four teams will play on the Saturday in April and
the Womens Final Four will be played on Sunday.The Championship games will be on
Monday.
After 117 years since John Naismith invented the game of Basketball,
a phenomenon of millions of fans and players affectionately call this time of
year March Madness, and with good reason. The insanity of no second chances, no
consolations, you lose and it is all over faces the Cinderella teams, the wanna
bes and shoe in teams all start with one equal chance to be the National
Champions of college Basketball.
It is the only kind of Madness you can get
in March and we love it!
Kathy Giegel has successfully coached basketball for over 25 years and loves
every minute of it! She creates programs for all ages to anyone who wants to learn about
basketball. Check out her newest creations at
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