History of March Madness

Are you ready for March Madness 2009? (AP Images)"]

March Madness as we know it has only been around since 1985, when the NCAA expanded its men’s basketball Tournament to 64 teams – 65 now with the opening round game, aka the “play-in” game. The history of the Tournament itself goes back to 1939, when Oregon beat Ohio State in the finals of an eight-team, single-elimination playoff.

1939 was also the year the phrase “March Madness” made its debut in an essay by Basketball Hall of Fame member H. V. Porter. The phrase originally referred to Illinois high-school basketball; Brent Musberger is credited with popularizing March Madness during the height of his broadcasting career with CBS. “March Madness” is now trademarked jointly by the NCAA and the Illinois High School Association, for whom Porter worked as an official.

UCLA holds the March Madness record with 11 championships, including 10 between 1964 and 1975. Kentucky has seven, and Indiana five.