It is a mirror of human hope, excellence and positive social change. It is, in short, a microcosm of human existence, with all its exuberance, tragedy and triumph.
The excitement and tradition of “March Madness” as we know it today has been shaped by many significant events in NCAA tournament history: The first NCAA men’s basketball tournament was held in 1939 and the first championship game was held at Northwestern on March 27, 1939. Only eight teams competed in two regions. Oregon defeated Ohio State in the championship, and the West region held a third-place game.
Although the NCAA tournament now determines the national champion, this was not always the case. Until the 1950s, the NIT was considered a more prestigious tournament than the NCAA, and teams often chose to enter the NIT and avoid the NCAA tournament. Because of this dichotomy, two of the best centers of the 1940s never met in an NCAA tournament. George Mikan’s DePaul team traditionally entered the NIT, while Bob Kurland’s Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) won two NCAA titles. Several schools participated in both tournaments. One such team, City College of New York (CCNY) led by Irwin Dambrot, won both in 1950. Ironically, CCNY defeated Bradley University in the final of both tournaments. Another school, Utah in 1944, entered the NIT, lost in the first round, and then won the NCAA title. Kentucky achieved a similar achievement in 1949, losing in the second round of the NIT and then winning the NCAA Tournament.
In 1941, the Eastern region added a third-place game to the schedule, and in 1946, a national third-place game was held for the first time; the game would be a fixture until 1980. In 1951, the tournament was expanded to 16 teams, and in 1952, Seattle was the site of the first true “Final Four,” with semifinal games and the championship game in one city. It was 1956 when the tournament was divided into four regions. Some of the most surprising and eye-opening events in college basketball followed: North Carolina defeated Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas 54-53 in three overtimes to win the title in 1957. The legend of dominance emerged in 1962 when the team John Wooden’s UCLA made the first of 13 Final Four appearances over the next 15 seasons.
Reflecting the racial and civil rights issues of the time, Loyola, Illinois was matched up with Mississippi State in a regional semifinal of the 1963 men’s basketball tournament. Mississippi State, an all-white team, fled the city in middle of the night despite protests from the governor and Mississippi State Police to play a Loyola team that features four black starters. Mississippi State overcame an unwritten Mississippi rule against playing integrated teams with a northward swashbuckling flight just one step ahead of a court order. Triumphantly, Loyola beat Mississippi State to win the title. In 1966, Texas Western (now UTEP), featuring an all-black starting five, defeats an all-white Kentucky team to win the national title.
In 1973, with the championship game held on a Monday night for the first time, UCLA, behind Bill Walton’s 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting, won its seventh straight championship, defeating Memphis State. NC State, coached by David Thompson, ends UCLA’s title run in 1974, defeating the Bruins in the national semifinals in double overtime.
The following year, the NCAA tournament was expanded to 32 teams, later allowing more than one school from each conference to participate. Prior to this decision, the restriction prevented several great teams from competing in the tournament, including the 1974 Maryland team. 4 nationally, but lost the ACC Conference final game to top-ranked NC State before the start of the tournament. After that, the NCAA began allowing more than one team per conference to participate. In 1976, Bobby Knight’s Indiana Hoosier team completed an undefeated season with a win over Michigan in the championship game. The Hoosiers are the last team to go undefeated and win the title.
The tournament was expanded to 40 teams in 1979, and the teams were seeded for the first time. “Magic” Earvin Johnson leads Michigan State over Larry Bird and Indiana State to win the national championship. The game caught the attention of millions across the country; its TV rating of 24.1 remains the highest for a college basketball game and is still considered one of the greatest matchups in NCAA Tournament history.
Expansion followed in 1980 to 48 teams, and then in 1983 to 53 teams. In what many believe is the best Cinderella story in college basketball, North Carolina State’s Lorenzo Charles dunks the ball as time expires in the 1983 championship game to lead the Wolfpack to a 54-52 victory. over favorites Akeem Olajuwon and Houston. Perhaps no figure in college basketball history better embodied the spirit of March Madness than coach Jim Valvano. His underdog North Carolina State Wolfpack pulled off what many consider a miracle by putting up an incredible run in the 1983 Tournament. of media attention and quickly became the symbol of exuberance and enthusiasm. He discovered shortly after that he had bone cancer and briefly became a college basketball commentator. Before his death at age 47, he was named the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award for Bravery at the first ESPN ESPY Awards. It was at this time that he announced the formation of the V Foundation for cancer research.
In 1985 the tournament was expanded to 64 teams. A Villanova Wildcat team shot a 22-of-28 field goal percentage to defeat Patrick Ewing and defending champion Georgetown in the championship game. Villanova remains the lowest seed (#8) to win the championship. In 1991 Duke defeated undefeated UNLV in the semifinals to win the national championship. In 1997, Arizona, led by Mike Bibby, Jason Terry, and Miles Simon, became the first school to defeat three #1 seeds en route to the national championship, winning against Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky.
The popularity of the NCAA Tournament has grown to rival the World Series, the Olympic Games, and the Super Bowl. CBS Sports in 1999 negotiated an 11-year, $6 billion deal for television, radio, Internet, corporate marketing, licensing, publishing, home video, and rights to Hoop City for the Division I men’s basketball championship.
In 2002, the NCAA tournament committee developed a “pod” system for the first and second rounds. The system allows the top four seeds to play at a venue as close to home as possible, without regard to the school’s tournament region. In that year’s tournament, Maryland became the first school to defeat five former national champions on their way to winning their first title. In 2004, the regions became known by the host city of the regional final rather than by their geographical names. The Final Four matchups were set by a committee prior to the tournament rather than rotate. Connecticut, behind center Emeka Okafor, won its second title in six seasons. Last year, 2005, Roy William’s North Carolina Tar Heels, coached by Sean May, held off the Fighting Illini to win the title game with a final score of 75-70.
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Adversity, tragedy and final triumph; the oppressed and beleaguered emerge from the journey as champions. The drama of hope escalated to euphoria, only to crash against the rocks of defeat in the ultimate test of poise and determination. The human experience in all its excellence and in all its failures. Yes, this Tournament has it all.