Helena Frye
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, is an annual single-elimination tournament played mostly during March in the United States. The tournament, which was first conducted in 1939, consists of 68 teams and is used to determine the men's college basketball national champion of Division I in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The 2025 March Madness tournament began with Selection Sunday on March 16 and ended with the Final Four and the national championship game on April 5 and 7.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | March (mostly), April |
| Year | 2025 |
| Teams | 68 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Games broadcast | CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV |
| Bracket contests | Yes |
| Bracket contest participants (estimated) | 60 to 100 million |
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What You'll Learn
- March Madness is an informal term for the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball championship tournaments
- The tournament is single-elimination and consists of 68 teams
- It is known for its upsets of favored teams
- The tournament has become part of American popular culture, with bracket contests awarding prizes for correctly predicting game outcomes
- The first men's tournament was held in 1939, but it was overshadowed by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT)
March Madness is an informal term for the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball championship tournaments
March Madness is an informal term for the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's and women's basketball championship tournaments. The tournament is played mostly during March and was first conducted in 1939. It is a single-elimination tournament consisting of 68 teams, with 32 teams automatically qualifying by winning their conference tournament and 36 teams qualifying based on their performance. The tournament has become a significant part of American popular culture, with bracket contests awarding prizes for correctly predicting game outcomes. It has also become one of the greatest annual sporting events in the United States, known for its upsets of favored teams.
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, often branded as March Madness or The Big Dance, is a highly anticipated event that draws significant television revenue and a large audience. The tournament has a long history, with the first one being held in 1939 and won by Oregon. It was the brainchild of Ohio State coach Harold Olsen, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches operated the inaugural tournament for the NCAA. From 1939 to 1950, the tournament consisted of eight teams selected from different geographical districts. Over time, the tournament gradually attracted more top teams and increased television revenue, solidifying its place as the premier college basketball postseason championship series in the United States.
The format of the tournament has evolved since its early days. In 1985, the tournament expanded to 64 teams, and in 2011, it adopted the current 68-team format. The expansion has allowed for more teams to participate and has created more opportunities for upsets and Cinderella stories. The tournament is known for its intense competition, with teams vying for the chance to advance to the Final Four and ultimately, the national championship game.
The women's tournament has also undergone growth and development. The first women's tournament was held in 1982 with 32 teams, and it has since expanded to match the men's tournament format. In 2022, both the men's and women's tournaments were branded as "NCAA March Madness," reflecting a unified identity and recognition of the women's competition. The inclusion of both men's and women's tournaments under the March Madness banner further emphasizes the excitement and significance of this annual basketball extravaganza.
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The tournament is single-elimination and consists of 68 teams
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States. It is used to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level in the NCAA. The tournament is played mostly during March and consists of 68 teams.
The first tournament was held in 1939, and the 68-team format was adopted in 2011. Before this, the tournament size varied from as little as 8 to as many as 53 teams. The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 68 teams are selected, seeded, and placed in the NCAA bracket each season by the NCAA DI men's basketball committee. The committee creates a "seed list" that ranks the teams in "true seeds" 1 through 68. This list reflects the relative qualitative assessment of the field in descending order and is used to assess the competitive balance of the top teams across the four regions of the championship.
Thirty-two teams automatically qualify for the tournament by winning their conference tournament, and thirty-six teams qualify by receiving an at-large bid based on their performance. The seeding for the at-large teams is determined by the selection committee and can fluctuate based on the true seed ranking of the teams.
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It is known for its upsets of favored teams
March Madness is famous for its upsets, where underdog teams defeat opponents with substantially higher seedings. These upsets are the essence of the tournament's appeal, creating "Cinderella" stories that turn players into folk heroes and teams into America's darlings.
The NCAA defines an upset as a victory by a team seeded five or more lines below their opponent. Since the expansion of the tournament to 64 teams in 1985, there have been numerous notable upsets. For example, in 2023, Fairleigh Dickinson beat Purdue 63-58, becoming only the second No.16 seed to defeat a No.1 seed in the tournament's history. The same year, Princeton, a No.15 seed, beat No.2 seed Arizona in the first round.
Other notable upsets include the 2021 victory by Oral Roberts, a No.15 seed, over Ohio State, a No.2 seed, and the 2016 win by Middle Tennessee, a No.15 seed, against Michigan State, a No.2 seed. In 2018, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers, a No.16 seed, beat top-ranked Virginia, a No.1 seed, by a score of 74-54, despite being 20-point underdogs.
When making predictions for March Madness, fans often look for these Cinderella teams, attempting to predict where upsets will occur. However, with just a one-in-9-quintillion chance of filling out a perfect bracket, it is incredibly difficult to accurately predict every outcome.
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The tournament has become part of American popular culture, with bracket contests awarding prizes for correctly predicting game outcomes
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, is an annual single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion. The tournament has become a significant part of American popular culture, with bracket contests awarding prizes for correctly predicting game outcomes.
The popularity of the tournament stems largely from the excitement generated by the bracket challenge, where participants attempt to predict the outcomes of all games. This challenge has led to March Madness becoming a highly anticipated event, with millions of sports fans eagerly filling out their brackets each year. The contest involves predicting the winners of 63 games, plus four play-in games, and the odds of achieving a perfect bracket are incredibly slim—approximately one in 9.2 quintillion.
The bracket contests have attracted various prizes, ranging from cash rewards to lucrative deals. Some contests offer millions of dollars for a perfect bracket, while others provide incentives for participants who come close. For example, in 2018, the Berkshire Hathaway March Madness contest awarded eight high-scorers a total of $100,000 in consolation prizes. Additionally, companies like Yahoo! Fantasy, FanDuel Fantasy, and ESPN have offered prizes ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 in their respective bracket challenges.
The 2025 March Madness tournament, which ran from mid-March to early April, featured several bracket contests with substantial prizes. For instance, DraftKings, in collaboration with Pepsi® Zero Sugar, hosted the Zero Right Bracket Challenge, where participants aimed to select the losing team for each game. The winner of this contest received a $100,000 cash prize. FanDuel also offered a $100,000 prize pool for those who could predict the final four teams in the Men's College Basketball Tournament. These contests added excitement and engagement to the March Madness tournament, encouraging fans to actively follow and predict the outcomes.
March Madness has indeed become a prominent part of American popular culture, with its bracket contests eagerly anticipated by sports enthusiasts across the nation. The challenge of predicting game outcomes and the allure of potential prizes have contributed to its widespread appeal, making it one of the most eagerly awaited annual sporting events in the United States.
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The first men's tournament was held in 1939, but it was overshadowed by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT)
The first NCAA Division 1 men's basketball tournament was held in 1939, with Oregon beating Ohio State 46-33 to win the national title. However, the tournament was overshadowed by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), which was founded in 1938, a year before the NCAA tournament.
The NIT was held in New York City at Madison Square Garden, which was then the centre of the press in the United States. As a result, the NIT often received more media coverage than the NCAA tournament during the early years. The NIT also featured the top teams in the country, which contributed to its prestige. During the first decade of the NCAA tournament, teams often competed in both tournaments, with the City College of New York winning both in 1950.
The NCAA tournament consisted of eight teams in its early years, with each team selected from a geographical district. The tournament size gradually increased, reaching 64 teams in 1985 and 68 teams in 2011. Today, the tournament is known for its upsets of favoured teams and has become one of the greatest annual sporting events in the United States. Bracket contests have also become a popular part of American culture, with millions of brackets filled out each year.
The term March Madness was first used in reference to basketball by Illinois high school official Henry V. Porter in 1939. However, it did not become associated with the NCAA tournament until 1982 when it was used by Brent Musberger during coverage of the tournament. The phrase "March Madness" has since become synonymous with the excitement and unpredictability of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
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Frequently asked questions
March Madness takes place in March, but it sometimes extends into early April.
March Madness is an informal term for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's and women's basketball championship tournaments.
68 teams participate in March Madness.
