With Spring around the corner, the NCAA men's basketball tournament known as "March Madness" is almost ready to kick off. March Madness has its origins in Illinois where the statewide high school basketball tournament began in the early 1900s. Around that time, an Illinois High School Association official named Henry V. Porter wrote an article for the their newspaper about the tournaments entitled, "March Madness" and the name stuck. A famous line from the article contributed to the slogan, "A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel".
March Madness was used in reference to Illinois high school ball until the 1980s when a CBS broadcaster named Brent Musburger used it during NCAA tournament coverage. The Illinois High School Association decided to trademark the saying by the late '80s. In the mid '90s, the Illinois High School Association sued the NCAA from distributing a CD-ROM game with the March Madness title. Both sides agreed to form a joint holding company called the March Madness Athletic Association. The Illinois High School Association has rights to the name on the high school level and the NCAA holds a license to use the phrase for the college tournaments.
At one point in the '80s, CBS began referring to the 3rd round of the tournament as "Sweet 16" when the tournament expanded to 64 teams. However, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association had a trademark on this term that they used in reference to their annual championship tournament. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association decided to negotiate with the NCAA by sharing the phrase. The NCAA owns the trademark for "Elite Eight". Even though the origin of the phrase, "Final Four" has been debated, it is believed that the term was coined by a Cleveland sports writer named Ed Chay.
In addition to being one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year, March Madness has become a favorite among those interested in wagering on the tournaments. Sportsbooks all over the country are eager to accept bets on the games which seems to make it even more exciting for the sports fans. For sports enthusiasts interested in betting on March Madness, below are some important dates to remember for the 2008 tournaments:
March 7 through March 13 - NCAA Conference Tournaments
March 20 and March 21 - March Madness begins
March 22 and March 23 - Second Round
March 27 and March 28- Regionals / Sweet 16
March 29 and March 30 - Elite 8
April 5 - Final Four
April 7 - Championship Game
Sports fans can place their bets online at www.i-Sportsbook.com and www.CasinoUnreal.com.
