This event is one that allows many people to show off their ego, and it gives them bragging rights for around a year.
March madness started in 1978, 28 years after the 1950s.
1 - Do you think that the people in the 50s could've come up with such an event?
2 - Did you make a bracket this year?
3 - What could give people of the 50s bragging rights for a year?
Sean T.
NCAA Tournament History - http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/history/
NCAA Basketball tournament timeline - http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/mens/story/9033549
1939 - NCAA Tournament begins with a field of 8.
1946 - The championship game is first televised. Oklahoma State defeated North Carolina.
1951 - The # of teams expands to 16 and in 1953 to 22 -25.
1975 - A 32-team field was adopted and the term, "Final Four" first appeared in an NCAA publication.
1979 - 40 team field.
1980 - 48-team field. In 1981, the NCAA begins a regulated system of ratings to ensure a balanced tournament called RPI.
1985 - The 64-team field is set.
Source for 1956 Champions University of San Francisco photo.
http://graphics.fansonly.com/schools/sanf/graphics/1956-m-baskbl-champions.jpg
3 comments:
No, I dont think that people in the 50's could've come up with March Madness. The NCAA has a billion dollar contract with CBS for broadcasting rights. The NCAA could not have benifitted that greatly back than because televised sports were not as big as they are now. Im running a March Madness pool this year and I made two brackets. Im pretty sure both of them are busted which is making me very depressed, considering I went to all that work collecting money that wont be mine. I think that the fear of communists back in the 50's and the cold war would cause people to not care as much about sports.
Phil
Basketball has been around for a while, and what I find interesting is the NIT (National Invitation Tournament) used to be bigger than the NCAA tournament years ago.
I know that the San Francisco teams of the 1950s consisted of great players like Bill Russell and KC Jones. When they went South to play teams, they ran into segregation. If you've seen the movie Glory Road, you know that black players weren't initially accepted. These make great Civil Rights stories.
I made a bracket this year. I hope it survives this weekend intact.
College football and pro baseball gave bragging rights to people.
I believe that the people in the 50s were completely capable of such a tounrament. I only think that there were not eough major colleges that felt basketball was important. The sports community had already embraced many professional sports and i'm sure that there could be as much hype at the collegant level. Also, I think that bragging right could come from betting on baseball or boxing or any popular sport. I made a bracket this year and I am currently in 1st place in my pool, it is a great feeling but it is short lived.
josh smith
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