KIN242PodPresentation

March Madness began in 1939 with only eight teams and has since evolved into a 64-team tournament. The Women's March Madness started in 1982 and has also grown in popularity. This year, women's basketball saw a 37% increase in viewership. The tournament brings in a lot of revenue and is a collective experience for fans, with millions of people filling out brackets and watching games. It also creates a sense of community and brings the world of sports together. The future of March Madness looks promising, with potential growth in viewership and even the possibility of expanding it to the WNBA. One, two, three, four. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ I love the way it flows, I love the way it grows ♪ ♪ There's something in the sound that takes me far ♪ ♪ It's like a special song, it can move my mood along ♪ ♪ But I cannot say your head through my guitar ♪ ♪ She told me add the bassline, and everything will be alright ♪ ♪ She told me that the groove is mine, it will take us through the night ♪ ♪ And where I'll go, can't explain, I'll never know ♪ ♪ But it's beautiful, you can't take this away from me ♪ ♪ The way I hear the melody, the way it springs clarity ♪ ♪ It's running through me, it's running through me ♪ Hello, and welcome to our podcast, Madness Begins, The Origins of March Madness. My name is Ethan Rice, and I'm your host today. And I'm your other host, Sarah Beth Ellis. Today we're going to be covering all things March Madness, talking about how it has evolved to what it is today, how it differs for men versus women, with the addition of a student interview of someone who went to March Madness. Can't wait for that one. Let's start from the beginning, and how the madness all started. March Madness first started in 1939, with only eight teams in the tournament. It was the first NCAA Division I tournament. The winner was Oregon, beating Ohio State for the title, 46-33. In 1951, the tournament grew to 16 teams. In 1975, it grew to 32. And finally, in 1985, it became the 64-team tournament that we've grown to know and love today. It had not been given the official name of March Madness until 1982, when broadcaster Brent Musburger used it while covering the tournament. Wow, very interesting stuff, Ethan. A couple of other facts about March Madness. The biggest comeback was in 2001, when Duke came back and won 94-84, after trailing 39-17 after the first half against Maryland. Personally, I am not a Duke fan, so I don't like to hear this. Lastly, the person who has scored the most points during their tournament career was Christian Laettner, with 407 points from 1989 to 1992, when averaging 17.7 points per game. Jeez, those Duke Blue Devils sure have been good for a long time. The start of the Women's March Madness is a little different than the men's. The first NCAA Women's Tournament happened in 1982. Just like the men's, the tournament became bigger, with more teams participating as the years went on. Yeah, Ethan, and we also want to discuss some more on women's basketball and how it has become even bigger, especially this year. In this year alone, the viewership for women's basketball was its most-watched regular season since 2009, with it increasing by 37%. That's a huge jump. A lot of this has come with the rise in attention to Caitlin Clarke, who has been shattering many records across men's and women's basketball, of course. Also, with the growing popularity of other stars, such as Angel Reese, Juju Watkins, Haley VanLip, and Paige Blackers. All of these players bring a very powerful draw to the women's game. The popularity of the women's basketball teams have really brought a lot to the world of women's sports. With social media, there has definitely been a lot more talk and coverage being heard about women's sports. This is something we feel is important to keep showing for the new generation of women athletes to come. The next thing we wanted to do in this episode is bring in a student who actually got to experience March Madness firsthand and go to a game. This JMU student also got to see our hometown Dukes get a win on the road in our first appearance since 2014. Hello, Tori Perkins, and thank you for joining us on our show. We want to know what it was like to experience the atmosphere of March Madness, especially with JMU playing. What were the most thrilling parts of the whole game? Thank you guys so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here. For me, it was just so much fun. Like all the anticipation leading up to getting the hotel, driving all the way up to New York. It was so much fun to experience that with all my friends. And then getting to Brooklyn and seeing the stadium and seeing all the JMU fans at bars and everything like that. It was just so much fun. And the game was everything I could have ever dreamed of. It was so much fun. Everyone was so excited and hyped. And when we won, everyone celebrated for hours and hours. And it was just such a fun experience. And then, unfortunately, the next weekend we did end up losing to Duke, which was really sad because we went from being on a very big high to a very low low. Yeah, I can imagine that low really hit. I mean, it hurt all the way back here. But still a very awesome experience to be out there. You know, take in that whole environment. So another question for you. Is there any specific merchandise you bought to remember this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? You know, I had a really hard time deciding what I was going to get. I probably sat there for probably 10 minutes trying to decide what I wanted to get. But eventually I decided to get a sweatshirt and a T-shirt. And I kind of wish I got some other stuff, but it's fine. Oh, yeah, you definitely should have got some other stuff because that's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I know all the way back here in Harrisonburg, we were excited to see our Dukes take on Duke. And speaking of our Dukes, they had a really amazing season going 32-4 and only losing one game at home. They were even 15-3 in the Sunbelt Conference. But anyways, Tori, thank you for the insight on March Madness and what your experience was like being able to go to see some of the tournament games. March Madness is something that is very popular. Now with the Women's on the Rise 2, there's been even more talk this year. Every year, 80 to 100 million people fill out a bracket. The dynamic of the tournament just makes the name that much more enticing to watch. With upsets and unpredictability, to this day, there still has never been a perfect March Madness bracket. Yeah, I always think my bracket's going to be perfect, and it just never is even, and I don't know why. But anyways, this also brings in a lot of revenue for the NCAA as well as the streaming services that you can now watch them on, not to mention the money that is made at the games with concessions, merchandise, souvenirs, and more. This will only continue to grow over the next few years. With the rise of media as well, it can also bring in many more demographics. Totally agree. Can't wait to see that happen. I feel like March Madness is just a collective experience for people. There are a lot of people that bet, make brackets, and compete with their friends to try and guess what might happen for teams throughout the tournament. Yeah, I know. I do all of that stuff. And there are a lot of people that keep up and even watch the games at school or work. People are just very interested in what may happen. This also gives us a sense of community in the sports industry. There's definitely a lot to unpack in the world of March Madness. It brings in a lot of revenue, fans, and competition. There's a lot of history and brings the world of sports together for a certain amount of time. It's a universal experience that many people look forward to year after year. Yeah, I agree. It is very cool to see the women's teams bringing in more viewership and it will only continue to grow from here. This is something that could potentially even be brought to the WNBA. Totally, and I can't wait to see that happen. Well, that's it for today. I want to thank you guys so much for tuning in for this episode. We hope you learned even more about March Madness and maybe something new. Personally, I have UConn and South Carolina winning for both my men's and women's brackets. How about you, Sarah Beth? Well, Ethan, we're just going to have to agree to disagree because my girl, Katelyn Clark, and Iowa are winning it for the women's and then I have Purdue winning it for the men's. But anyways, thank you guys for listening and make sure to tune in next time. Up next, we have episode 10, Drive Like a Girl, where they will talk about Michelle Moulton, the racer who broke records and barriers. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪