March Madness is the largest college basketball tournament and is held annually by the NCAA. It spans from mid-March to early April. It first started in 1939, with 8 schools; including Brown, Ohio State, Villanova, Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Utah State. The tournament concluded with Oregon beating Ohio State 46-33.
Throughout the duration of the tournament, its size has grown from the first 8 teams to 16 teams twelve years later in 1951, then doubling again to 32 teams in 1975, and then finally doubling again in 1985 to the current format encompassing 64 teams today. However, the tournament actually encompasses 68 teams as of 2011, with the 4 lowest ranked teams playing each other in a series of games called the “First Four” as the winners play higher seeded teams.
What many people don’t know is that the largest college basketball tournament wasn’t the NCAA’s March Madness, but actually the National Invitational Tournament, also known as the NIT. And even after the early years of March Madness, the NIT was still the dominant league until 1951 when the NCAA banned college teams from participating in both events after some teams chose the NIT over March Madness. Teams, however, chose to stick with the NCAA cementing it as the primary and biggest college basketball league in the nation. What also helped to spur the move to the NCAA was one of the largest scandals in sports history when it was uncovered that the NIT had been point shaving, a form of match fixing, for years, and the following backlash was enough to sideline the NIT for the rest of its existence. Much of the information was revealed by sportswriter and journalist Oscar Fraley in a famous 1951 issue of The Times-News.
NIL Deals
Arguably, one of the biggest changes in college basketball, and an event that is very close to March Madness is the introduction of Name, Image and Likeness deals, also known as NIL deals. While the deal was first created to allow for student-athletes at both a high school and collegiate level to earn money on and off the court via brand endorsements and having their likeness associated with companies, it is also to prevent misuse of it as well. The NCSA (Next College Student Association) organization provides a very real scenario when it says, “If an athlete’s photograph is taken while wearing an athletic brand, and that brand uses the photo to promote their products without the athlete’s consent, that athlete could claim the brand is in violation of the right of publicity.”
This scenario did indeed serve as a basis for two Supreme Court Cases in the last few years which saw the NCAA exploiting the names, images, and likenesses of student-athletes without them receiving any form of compensation. These cases; O’Bannon v NCAA (2015) and NCAA v Alston (2021), saw NCAA using student-athletes in media and games such as EA Sports NCAA Basketball without the players featured receiving any compensation. However, after years of argument both in and out of court, laws such as the “Fair Pay to Play Act” were signed into law allowing student-athletes to receive compensation for the use of their name, image, and likeness.
These laws have paved the way for high-earning student-athletes such as Bronny James, who is the son of legendary NBA player Lebron James, to endorsements, sponsorships, and partnerships with companies such as Beats by Dre, Nike, and PSD Underwear, all while being the 19-year-old Guard for the USC Trojans.
Women's Basketball on the Rise
Whilst men’s basketball has remained in the spotlight for decades, recently women’s basketball has been gaining a large amount of traction and recognition in recent years. Women’s basketball has been spearheaded by trailblazers like Cheryl Miller, Sheryl Swoopes, and Dawn Staley as well as organizations like the Women’s National Basketball Association or WNBA. The growing popularity of women's basketball can be attributed to its increased visibility by famous sports platforms like ESPN and Fox Sports. Women’s college basketball also saw a rise in popularity around the same time due to the collegiate basketball programs of schools like UConn, Stanford, and Baylor which have helped raise and attract new fans.
Women’s sporting organizations such as the WNBA and the Women’s Sports Foundation have also helped to spur movements promoting gender equality and have served as ways to empower female athletes and provide more positive female role models for younger women. These organizations have also taken root in creating more equal opportunities and representation for women in sports.
Future of Women’s Sports
The future of women’s sports, with women’s basketball in particular, looks incredibly promising as it continues to gain traction and recognition on national and global stages. The surges in interest can be directly attributed to remarkable achievements and increased visibility of female athletes across the world. Women’s basketball has seen record-high numbers in terms of viewership, attendance, and sponsorship in the last couple of years and continues to grow exponentially as more media outlets begin speaking on organizations such as the WNBA and NCAA Women’s Basketball. The introduction of this generation's basketball talents such as Caitlin Clark, Alissa Pili, JuJu Watkins, Rori Harmon, and so many other women continue to grow and shape the sport for future generations as well.
Women’s basketball is also intrinsically linked with technology and social media as it allows for more access and room for engagement between these organizations and their respective fans. We can ensure that women’s sports will continue to thrive and evolve with the aid of local and national associations that wish to help with the ongoing efforts to promote inclusivity, diversity, and equality in sports, making the future of women’s basketball boundless.