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122-472: The tournament had a new format in 2006. The first two rounds were held at regional "common sites" instead of campus sites, making the format more like the postseason NCAA Tournament . Through 2014, the semifinals and finals had always been held at Madison Square Garden . In 2006, the common sites were Charlotte, North Carolina , Nashville, Tennessee , Indianapolis and Spokane, Washington . The tournament returned to its previous format in 2007 then returned to

244-422: A single-elimination bracket. Thirty-two teams automatically qualify for the tournament by winning their conference tournament, played during the two weeks before the tournament, and thirty-six teams qualify by receiving an at-large bid based on their performance during the season. The Selection Committee determines the at-large bids, ranks all the teams 1 to 68, and places the teams in the bracket, all of which

366-591: A 12-year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins , including a record seven in a row. No other team has won more than four in a row in Division I college men's or women's basketball. Within this period, his teams won an NCAA men's basketball record 88 consecutive games. Wooden won the prestigious Henry Iba Award as national coach of the year a record seven times and won the Associated Press award five times. As

488-708: A 5-foot-10-inch (1.78 m) guard with the Purdue Boilermakers , Wooden was the first college basketball player to be named an All-American three times, and the 1932 Purdue team on which he played as a senior was retroactively recognized as the pre- NCAA tournament national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll . He played professionally in the National Basketball League (NBL). Wooden

610-477: A 75–74 overtime victory over former player and former assistant coach Denny Crum and Louisville in the 1975 NCAA Tournament semifinal game, Wooden announced that he would retire at age 64 immediately after the championship game. His legendary coaching career concluded triumphantly when Richard Washington and David Meyers combined for 52 points as UCLA responded with a 92–85 win over Joe B. Hall and Kentucky to claim Wooden's first career coaching victory over

732-507: A 93-year-old Wooden stated that he would not mind coming back as an assistant who could help players with practices and other light duties. During his tenure with the Bruins, Wooden became known as "the Wizard of Westwood ", though he personally disdained the nickname. He gained lasting fame with UCLA by winning 620 games in 27 seasons and 10 NCAA titles during his last 12 seasons, including seven in

854-459: A Bruins team that had posted a 12–13 record the previous year and transformed it into a Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) Southern Division champion with a 22–7 record, the most wins in a season for UCLA since the school started playing basketball in 1919. He surpassed that number the next season with 24–7 and a second division title and overall conference title in 1950, and would add two more in his first four years. Up to that time, UCLA had collected

976-571: A No. 11 seed. Since 2012, the committee has released the No. 1 to 68 true seed list after announcing the bracket. Since 2017, the Selection Committee has released a list of the top 16 teams three weeks before Selection Sunday. This list does not guarantee any team a bid, as the Committee re-ranks all teams when starting the final selection process. The seed line of the four at-large teams competing in

1098-477: A Wooden-coached team ever lost. That year, Walker became the first African-American to play in any post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament. In the 1948–1949 season, Wooden was hired by the University of California, Los Angeles , to be the fourth basketball coach in the school's history. He succeeded Fred Cozens , Caddy Works , and Wilbur Johns ; Johns became the school's athletic director. Wooden signed

1220-451: A book, "Coach Wooden and Me", which details their long-standing friendship. A sportswriter commented that everybody outside of UCLA would be happy that glorious day in June when Alcindor finally graduated and college basketball could go back to the routine method of determining a national champion. This prophecy would prove to be ludicrous over the next six years. The 1970 squad proved that nobody

1342-588: A catastrophic leg injury during the tournament. This tradition is credited to Everett Case , the coach of North Carolina State , who stood on his players' shoulders to accomplish the feat after the Wolfpack won the Southern Conference tournament in 1947. CBS, since 1987 and yearly to 2015, in the odd-numbered years since 2017, and TBS, since 2016, the even-numbered years, close out the tournament with " One Shining Moment ", performed by Luther Vandross . Just as

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1464-639: A geographical district. Multiple conferences were considered part of each district, such as the Missouri Valley and the Big Seven conferences in one district and the Southern and Southeastern conferences in another, which often led to top-ranked teams being left out of the tournament. The issue came to a head in 1950 , when the NCAA suggested that third-ranked Kentucky and fifth-ranked North Carolina State compete in

1586-493: A member of UCLA's 1968 team. Lew Alcindor finished his career at UCLA in 1969 with a third consecutive national championship when the Bruins beat George King 's Purdue team 92–72 in the title game. The three straight titles were matched by three consecutive MVP awards in the tournament as Alcindor established himself as college basketball's superstar during the three-peat performance. Alcindor and Wooden would continue their communication even after he left UCLA. In 2017, Jabbar wrote

1708-737: A member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame . He was one of five people—along with Oscar Robertson , Bill Russell , Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith —who were selected to represent the inaugural class. In 2009, he was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame in St. Louis. Coach Wooden was the ninth honouree in the Missouri Valley Conference's Lifetime Achievement category. Wooden said

1830-526: A much larger on-campus facility, Pauley Pavilion , was built in time for the 1965–66 season. The building in Westwood was christened on November 27, 1965, in a special game that pitted the UCLA varsity against the UCLA freshmen. It was Lew Alcindor 's (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) freshman season (freshmen were ineligible to play on the varsity in those days). UCLA was the defending national champion and ranked number 1 in

1952-426: A playoff game for a bid, but Kentucky refused, believing they should be given the bid as the higher-ranked team. In response, the NCAA doubled the field to 16 in 1951 , adding two additional districts and six spots for at-large teams. Conferences could still only have one team in the tournament, but multiple conferences from the same geographic district could now be included through at-large bids. This development helped

2074-416: A row from 1967 to 1973. His UCLA teams also established an NCAA men's basketball record winning streak of 88 games and four perfect 30–0 seasons. They also won 38 straight games in NCAA tournaments and 98 straight home wins at Pauley Pavilion, where Wooden compiled a 150–3 record over 10 seasons. "He never made more than $ 35,000 a year salary (not including camps and speaking engagements), including 1975,

2196-656: A row. He was named to the All-NBL First Team for the 1937–38 season. During World War II in 1942, he joined the United States Navy . He served until 1946 and left the service as a lieutenant . Wooden coached two years at Dayton High School in Dayton, Kentucky . His first year at Dayton, the 1932–33 season, marked the only time he had a losing record (6–11) as a coach. After Dayton, he returned to Indiana, where he taught English, coached basketball and served as

2318-401: A separate location a week later, establishing the format with two final rounds of the tournament (although the name "Final Four" would not be used in branding until the 1980s). The 1953 tournament expanded to include 22 teams and added a fifth round, with ten teams receiving a bye to the regional semifinals. The number of teams would fluctuate from 22 to 25 teams over the next two decades, but

2440-538: A small farm in Centerton in 1918. He had three brothers: Maurice, Daniel, and William, and two sisters, one (unnamed) who died in infancy, and another, Harriet Cordelia, who died from diphtheria at the age of two. When he was a boy, Wooden's role model was Fuzzy Vandivier of the Franklin Wonder Five , a legendary team that dominated Indiana high school basketball from 1919 to 1922. After his family moved to

2562-583: A street on campus after him. On October 14, 2010, the Undergraduate Student Association Council of UCLA held a "John Wooden Day Celebration" to honor Wooden's 100th birthday and to commemorate his contributions to the university. A portion of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame at Morgan Centre is a recreation of Wooden's den office in honor of his memory on campus. Golf Digest lists Wooden as one of four people to score both

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2684-460: A success in life as well as in basketball. Wooden's 29-year coaching career and overwhelming critical acclaim for his leadership have created a legacy not only in sports but also extending to business, personal success, and organizational leadership. John Robert Wooden was born on October 14, 1910, in Hall, Indiana , the son of Roxie (1887–1959) and Joshua Wooden (1882–1950), and moved with his family to

2806-424: A team is not moved out of their preferred geographical region an inordinate number of times based on their placement in the previous two tournaments. To follow these rules and preferences, the committee may move a team off of their expected seed line. Thus, for example, the 40th overall ranked team, originally slated to be a No. 10 seed within a particular region, may instead be moved up to a No. 9 seed or moved down to

2928-569: A three-year contract for $ 6,000 in the first year. Prior to being hired at UCLA, he had been pursued for the head coaching position at the University of Minnesota , and it was his and his wife's desire to remain in the Midwest , but inclement weather in Minnesota prevented Wooden from receiving the scheduled phone offer from the Golden Gophers. Thinking that they had lost interest, Wooden instead accepted

3050-646: A total of two division titles since the PCC began divisional play, and had not won a conference title of any sort since winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1927. In spite of these achievements, Wooden reportedly did not initially enjoy his position, and his wife did not favor living in Los Angeles. When Mel Taube left Purdue in 1950, Wooden's inclination was to return to West Lafayette and finally accept

3172-586: Is considered a "home court". For the First Four and the Final Four, the home court prohibition does not apply because only one venue hosts these rounds. The First Four is regularly hosted by the Dayton Flyers ; as such, the team competed on their home court in 2015 . Because the Final Four is hosted at indoor football stadiums, it is unlikely that a team will play on their home court in the future. The last time this

3294-417: Is played over three weekends, with two rounds occurring each weekend. Before the first weekend, eight teams compete in the First Four to advance to the first round. Two games pair the lowest-ranked conference champions and two games pair the lowest-ranked at-large qualifiers. The first and second rounds are played during the first weekend, the regional semifinals and regional finals during the second weekend, and

3416-601: Is revealed publicly on the Sunday before the tournament, dubbed Selection Sunday by the media and fans. There is no reseeding during the tournament and matchups in each subsequent round are predetermined by the bracket. The tournament is divided into four regions, with each region having sixteen to eighteen teams. Regions are named after the U.S. geographic area of the city hosting each regional semifinal and regional final (the tournament's third and 4th round overall). Host cities for all regions vary from year to year. The tournament

3538-504: The Game of the Century in the nation's first nationally televised regular season college basketball game. Houston upset UCLA 71–69, as Hayes scored 39 points. In a post-game interview, Wooden said, "We have to start over." UCLA went undefeated the rest of the year and thrashed Houston 101–69 in the semi-final rematch of the NCAA tournament en route to the national championship. Sports Illustrated ran

3660-589: The Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Poretta Power Poll . John Wooden was named All-Big Ten and All-Midwestern (1930–32) while at Purdue, and he was the first player ever to be named a three-time consensus All-American. In 1932, he was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor , recognizing one student athlete from the graduating class of each Big Ten member school, for demonstrating joint athletic and academic excellence throughout their college career. He

3782-790: The Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament in Kansas City. Wooden refused the invitation, citing the NAIB's policy banning black players. One of Wooden's players, Clarence Walker , was a black man from East Chicago, Indiana . That same year, Wooden's alma mater Purdue University asked him to return to campus and serve as an assistant to then-head coach Mel Taube until Taube's contract expired, when Wooden would take over

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3904-711: The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Memorial Court of Honor because his UCLA basketball teams played six seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena . On November 8, 2008, Indiana State officially named the floor at the Hulman Centre The Nellie and John Wooden Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife, Nellie. The ceremony included taped comments from Coach Wooden and the participation of members of his 1946–47 and 1947–48 teams. The Sycamores christened

4026-836: The National Invitation Tournament . Founded by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association one year before the NCAA tournament, the NIT was held entirely in New York City at Madison Square Garden. Because New York was the center of the press in the United States, the NIT often received more coverage than the NCAA tournament in early years. Additionally, good teams were often excluded from the NCAA tournament because each conference could only have one bid and conference champions were even excluded because of

4148-547: The Pete Newell -coached teams of the California Golden Bears took control of the conference and won the 1959 NCAA tournament . Also hampering the fortunes of Wooden's team during that time period was a probation that was imposed on all UCLA sports teams in the aftermath of a scandal that involved illegal payments made to players on the school's football team. The probation was also extended to three additional schools:

4270-476: The high school ranks. During one 46-game stretch, he made 134 consecutive free throws, which is still a professional record to this day (the NBA record is 97 made by Micheal Williams in 1993). One notable instance made after hitting his 100th consecutive free throw had Kautskys owner Frank Kautsky pay $ 100 to Wooden directly during a game after briefly stopping it to celebrate his 100th professional free throw made in

4392-419: The 1948–1949 season, he inherited a little-known program that played in a cramped gym. He left it as a national powerhouse with 10 national championships— the most successful rebuilding project in college basketball history. John Wooden ended his UCLA coaching career with a 620–147 overall record and a winning percentage of .808. These figures do not include his two-year record at Indiana State prior to taking over

4514-481: The 2001 book Be Quick—But Don't Hurry! Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime . The bestseller details how Hill applied his experience as a player under Wooden to achieve success in his career as a television executive. His goal was to demonstrate the relevance of Wooden's coaching style to the business world. The book also delves into his personal relationship with Wooden as his coach and mentor. In 2004,

4636-536: The 2006 format in 2009. On September 3, 2014 a new format was announced for the NIT Season Tip-Off. The NIT Season Tip-Off will no longer be a bracketed event, instead becoming a classic with set semifinal matchups in New York, after the NCAA could only get eight teams in the field instead of 16. The NCAA-run event will add a new wrinkle due to the reduced field and feature a showcase of games on Thanksgiving Day with

4758-519: The 2021 women's tournament about the differing facility quality and branding, both the men's and women's tournaments were branded as "NCAA March Madness" starting in 2022 with variations of the same tournament-wide logo used by the men's tournament. Additionally, the Final Four for the men's tournament was branded as the "Men's Final Four" beginning in 2022, reflecting the "Women's Final Four" branding in use for that tournament since 1987 . The tournament consists of 68 teams competing in seven rounds of

4880-454: The 8-district system before 1950. Teams often competed in both tournaments during the first decade, with City College of New York winning both the NIT and NCAA tournament in 1950. Soon after, the NCAA banned teams from participating in both tournaments. Two major changes over the course of the early 1970s led to the NCAA becoming the preeminent post-season tournament for college basketball. First,

5002-476: The Bruins had played at the Men's Gym . It normally seated 2,400, but had been limited to 1,500 since 1955 by order of the city fire marshal. This forced the Bruins to move games to Pan Pacific Auditorium , the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and other venues around Los Angeles when they were expected to attract larger crowds—something that happened fairly often after the Bruins' first national title. At Wooden's urging,

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5124-494: The Bruins' speed and zone press forced 29 turnovers and nullified the height advantage of Duke's Hack Tison and Jay Buckley, two 6-foot, 10-inch players. In the 1964-1965 campaign, the defending NCAA champions got off to an ominous start when UCLA lost to Illinois by 27 points in its opening game. It was all uphill after that as the squad repeated as national champions with Gail Goodrich, Kenny Washington , and Doug McIntosh . The Bruins upended Dave Strack 's Michigan team 91–80 in

5246-559: The Final Four has exclusively been played in large indoor football stadiums. Beginning in 2001 , the field was expanded from 64 to 65 teams, adding to the tournament what was informally known as the "play-in game" . This was in response to the creation of the Mountain West Conference during 1999. Originally, the winner of the Mountain West's tournament did not receive an automatic bid, as doing so would have eliminated one of

5368-442: The Final Four of the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. A narrow loss, due largely to a controversial foul call in a 1962 semi-final game against Ed Jucker 's eventual national champion Cincinnati team, convinced Wooden that his Bruins were ready to contend for national championships. Two seasons later in 1964, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place when assistant coach Jerry Norman persuaded Wooden that

5490-399: The First Four games pit 16 seeds against each other. The two other games, however, pit the last at-large bids against each other. The seeding for the at-large teams will be determined by the selection committee and fluctuates based on the true seed ranking of the teams. Explaining the reasoning for this format, selection committee chairman Dan Guerrero said, "We felt if we were going to expand

5612-429: The First Four has varied each year, depending on the overall ranking of the at-large teams in the field. In the men's tournament, all sites are nominally neutral; teams are prohibited from playing tournament games on their home courts during the first, second, and regional rounds. Under NCAA rules, any court on which a team hosts more than three regular-season games (not including preseason or conference tournament games)

5734-594: The First Round and the Second Round and the First Four became the official name of the opening round. In 2016 , the NCAA introduced a new "NCAA March Madness" logo for tournament-wide branding, including fully-branded courts at each of the tournament venues. Previously, the NCAA had used the existing court or a generic NCAA court. Beginning in 2017 , the #1 overall seed picks the sites for their first and second round games and their potential regional games. Additionally,

5856-697: The Hardwood Breakfast, which is held each year at the Final Four and is hosted by Athletes in Action. On February 3, 1984, Wooden was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2000, Wooden was honored with the "Lombardi Award of Excellence" from the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation. The award was created to honor Coach Lombardi 's legacy, and is awarded annually to an individual who exemplifies

5978-760: The John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award in 2009, with Wooden being the inaugural recipient. In 1986, John Wooden was honored as an Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Liberal Arts at Purdue University – the first year the award was given. In 1976, Wooden received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . On May 17, 2004, Wooden was awarded the Ambassador Award of Excellence by

6100-646: The LA Sports & Entertainment Commission at the Riviera Country Club . On Wooden's 96th birthday in 2006, a post office in Reseda, California , near where Wooden's daughter lives, was renamed the Coach John Wooden Post Office. This act was signed by President George W. Bush based on legislation introduced by Congressman Brad Sherman . In July 2010, Wooden's alma mater, Purdue University, named

6222-625: The Los Angeles Athletic Club. The MVP award for the McDonald's All-American Game in high-school basketball is named the "John R. Wooden Most Valuable Player Award". The Wooden Legacy is held in his honour. In 1998 the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award was created to be given to a former player or coach who exemplifies character, leadership and faith. This Award is presented at the Legends of

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6344-405: The NCAA added a rule in 1971 that banned teams who declined an invitation to the NCAA tournament from participating in other post-season tournaments. This was in response to eighth-ranked Marquette declining its invitation in 1970 and instead participating in and winning the NIT after coach Al McGuire complained about their regional placement. Since then, the NCAA tournament has clearly been

6466-470: The NCAA compete with the National Invitation Tournament for prestige. In the eight team format, the tournament was split into the East and West Regions, with champions meeting in the national championship game. The first two rounds for each region were conducted at the same site and the national championship and, from 1946 , consolation game occurred a week later. Some years, the site of the national championship

6588-469: The No. 5 true seed will not be paired with the No. 1 true seed. The committee ensures competitive balance among the top four seeds in each region by adding the true seed values up and comparing the values among the regions. If there is significant deviation, some teams will be moved among the regions to balance the true seed distribution. If a conference has two to four teams in the top four seeds, they will be placed in different regions. Otherwise, teams from

6710-468: The Olympics awards gold, silver, and bronze medals for first, second, and third place, respectively, the NCAA awards the national champions a gold-plated wooden NCAA national championship trophy. The loser of the championship game receives a silver-plated national runner-up trophy for second place. Since 2006, all four Final Four teams receive a bronze plated NCAA regional championship trophy; prior to 2006, only

6832-827: The Phoenix regional in 2004, the Chicago regional in 2005, and the Minneapolis regional in 2006, but reverted to the traditional geographic designations beginning in 2007 . For the 2011 tournament, the South Region was the Southeast Region and the Midwest Region the Southwest Region; both returned to their previous names in 2012. The 1996 Final Four was the last to take place in a venue built specifically for basketball. Since then,

6954-462: The University of Southern California, California and Stanford. The scandal resulted in the dismantling of the PCC conference. By the 1961–1962 season, the probation was no longer in place and Wooden returned his team to the top of the conference. This time, however, they would take the next step, and in so doing, unleash a run of dominance unparalleled in the history of college basketball. UCLA reached

7076-492: The Wildcats and his unprecedented 10th national championship. Marques Johnson and Andre McCarter were also key contributors on Wooden's final championship team. The success of Wooden's last team was particularly impressive because it had no marquee stars such as Alcindor, Walton, Hazzard, and Goodrich; the team was a group of rugged opportunists. Andy Hill , who was on three Bruin teams under Wooden that won NCAA championships from 1970 to 1972, decades later co-wrote with Wooden

7198-431: The Year " award with Billie Jean King . In 1960, he was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player and as a coach in 1973, becoming the first to be honored as both a player and a coach. After his coaching career ended, UCLA continued to honor Wooden with the title of Head Men's Basketball Coach Emeritus . On November 17, 2006, Wooden was recognised for his impact on college basketball as

7320-458: The Year again. Keith Wilkes , Greg Lee , and Larry Hollyfield were members of that team, and Wilkes would go on to win four NBA championships as well. UCLA's two big streaks came to an end during the 1973–1974 season. In January, the winning streak stopped at 88 games when Digger Phelps 's Notre Dame squad upended the Bruins 71–70 in South Bend. Two months later, Norm Sloan 's North Carolina State team defeated UCLA 80–77 in double overtime in

7442-422: The at-large bids. As an alternative to eliminating an at-large bid, the NCAA expanded the tournament to 65 teams . The #64 and #65 seeds were seeded in a regional bracket as 16 seeds, and then played the opening round game on the Tuesday preceding the first weekend of the tournament. This game was always played at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Starting in 2004 , the selection committee revealed

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7564-651: The athletic director at South Bend Central High School until entering the Armed Forces . Wooden spent two years at Dayton and nine years at Central. His high school coaching record over 11 years was 218–42. After World War II, Wooden coached at Indiana State Teachers College , later renamed Indiana State University , in Terre Haute, Indiana , from 1946 to 1948, succeeding his high school coach, Glenn M. Curtis . In addition to his duties as basketball coach, Wooden also coached baseball and served as athletic director, all while teaching and completing his master's degree in education. In 1947, Wooden's basketball team won

7686-428: The bracket, the Committee ranks the whole field from 1 to 68; these are referred to as the true seed . The committee then divides the teams amongst the four regions, giving each a seed between No. 1 and No. 16. The same four seeds in all the regions are referred to as the seed line (i.e. the No. 6 seed line). Eight teams are doubled up and compete in the First Four . Two of the paired teams compete for No. 16 seeds, and

7808-436: The championship was moved to Monday evening in 1973 , where they have remained since. Before the championship had been played on Saturday and the semifinals two days before. The third-place games were eliminated during this era, with the last regional third-place games played in 1975 and the last national third-place game played in 1981 . In 1985 , the tournament expanded to 64 teams, eliminating all byes and play-ins. For

7930-412: The change from the original proposal of the "John & Nell Wooden Court", insisting that his wife's name should come first. In 2008, Indiana State also bestowed this honour on Wooden by naming their home court in the Hulman Center the "Nellie and John Wooden Court". The student recreation centre at UCLA is also named in his honor. Also in 2008, Wooden was honoured with a commemorative bronze plaque in

8052-414: The duties at UCLA. In 2009, Wooden was named The Sporting News "Greatest Coach of All Time". Wooden was recognized numerous times for his achievements. He was named NCAA College Basketball's Coach of the Year in 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973. In 1967, he was the Henry Iba Award USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1972, he shared Sports Illustrated magazine's " Sportsman of

8174-412: The field it would create better drama for the tournament if the First Four was much more exciting. They could all be on the 10 line or the 12 line or the 11 line." As part of this expansion, the round of 64 was renamed the Second Round and the round of 32 was renamed the Third Round, with the First Four being officially the First Round. In 2016 , the rounds of 64 and 32 returned to their previous names of

8296-429: The final. Walt Hazzard fouled out of the game late in the second half on a player control foul, but this proved to be insignificant when he cut down the net in celebration and was named tournament most valuable player. Gail Goodrich (27 points), Keith Erickson , Fred Slaughter , Jack Hirsch , and reserve Kenny Washington (26 points, 12 rebounds) contributed to the UCLA win. With no player taller than 6 feet, 5 inches,

8418-405: The finals of the NCAA tournament. Goodrich shared Player of the Year honors with Princeton 's Bill Bradley . The 1966 squad was denied a chance at a triple crown when it finished second to Oregon State in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (now the Pac-12 ). UCLA was ineligible to play in the NCAA tournament that year because in those days only conference champions received a bid to

8540-422: The first edition not to be held, and decided against releasing the brackets that the Selection Committee had been working on. In 2021 , the tournament was held entirely in the state of Indiana to reduce travel. This was to date the only time the tournament was conducted in one state. As a COVID-19 precaution, all participating teams were required to stay in NCAA-provided accommodations until they lost. The schedule

8662-430: The first time, all teams had to win six games to win the tournament. This expansion led to increased media coverage and popularity in American culture. Until 2001 , the First and Second Rounds occurred at two sites in each region. In 1985, the Mideast Region was renamed the Southeast Region. In 1997 , the Southeast Region became the South Region. From 2004 to 2006 , the regions were named after their host cities, e.g.

8784-491: The front cover headline Lew's Revenge. The rout of Houston . UCLA limited Hayes to only 10 points; he had been averaging 37.7 points per game. Wooden credited Norman for devising the diamond-and-one defense that contained Hayes. The Game of the Century is also remembered for an incident involving Wooden and Edgar Lacy . Lacy was ineffective on defense against Elvin Hayes, and Wooden benched him after 11 minutes. Lacy never re-entered

8906-515: The game. Furious with Wooden, Lacy quit the team three days later, telling the Los Angeles Times "I've never enjoyed playing for that man." UCLA's talent during the 1968 NCAA tournament was so overwhelming that they placed four players on the All-Tournament team. In addition to Alcindor, Lucius Allen , Mike Warren , and "Lefty" Lynn Shackelford were given accolades. Kenny Heitz was also

9028-458: The head coaching job there. He was ultimately dissuaded when UCLA officials reminded him that it was he who had insisted upon a three-year commitment during negotiations in 1948. Wooden felt that leaving UCLA prior to the expiration of his contract would be tantamount to breaking his word, even though Purdue offered more money, a car and housing. By the 1955–56 season, Wooden had established a record of sustained success at UCLA. That year, he guided

9150-483: The head coaching job with the Bruins . Officials from the University of Minnesota contacted Wooden immediately after he accepted the position at UCLA, but he declined their offer because he had already given his word to UCLA. Wooden had immediate success, fashioning the mark of the rarest of coaches, an "instant turnaround" for an undistinguished, faltering program. Part of this success was due to his unique offensive system,

9272-400: The highest ranked teams normally get the closest sites. The possible pods by seeding are: * Vacated title not included A total of 333 teams have appeared in the NCAA tournament since 1939. Because the NCAA did not split into divisions until 1957 , some schools that have appeared in the tournament are no longer in Division I . Among Division I schools, 46 have never made

9394-516: The honour he was most proud of was "Outstanding Basketball Coach of the U.S". by his denomination, the Christian Church. Since 1977, the John R. Wooden Award has been the most coveted of the four college basketball player-of-the-year awards. This award has attained the status of being the equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy for college basketball, with the winner announced during a ceremony held at

9516-462: The major one, with conference champions and the majority of the top-ranked teams participating. Second, the NCAA allowed multiple teams per conference starting in 1975 . This was in response to several highly ranked teams being denied bids during the early 1970s. These included South Carolina in 1970, which was undefeated in conference play but lost in the ACC tournament; second-ranked USC in 1971 , which

9638-593: The men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level in the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Played mostly during March, the tournament consists of 68 teams and was first conducted in 1939 . Known for its upsets of favored teams, it has become one of the biggest annual sporting events in the US. The 68-team format was adopted in 2011 ; it had remained largely unchanged since 1985 when it expanded to 64 teams. Before then,

9760-428: The most memorable campaigns in the history of UCLA basketball. Freshmen became eligible to play varsity ball again, and the Bruins went 30–0 and stretched their winning streak to a record 75 straight in breezing through the NCAA tournament by blowing out Gene Bartow 's Memphis State team 87–66 in the final, as Bill Walton hit an incredible 21 of 22 field goal attempts. Walton and Wooden were everybody's Player and Coach of

9882-565: The national championship once. All tournament games are broadcast by CBS , TBS , TNT , and truTV under the program name NCAA March Madness . With a contract through 2032, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery pay $ 891 million annually for the broadcast rights. The NCAA distributes revenue to participating teams based on how far they advance, which provides significant funding for college athletics. The tournament has become part of American popular culture through bracket contests that award money and other prizes for correctly predicting

10004-490: The national semifinals and championship game during the third weekend. Regional rounds are branded as the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight and the third weekend is branded as the Final Four, all named after the number of teams remaining at the beginning of the round. All games, including the First Four, are scheduled so that teams will have one rest day between each game. This format has been in use since 2011, with minor changes to

10126-615: The national semifinals were rotated on a yearly basis instead of the two eastern and two western regions always playing. Seeding also began during this era, adding drama and ensuring better teams had better paths to the Final Four. In 1978 , teams were seeded in two separate pools based on their qualification method. Each region had four teams which automatically qualified ranked Q1–Q4 and four teams which received an at-large bid ranked L1–L4. In 1979 , all teams in each region were seeded 1 through 10, without regards for their qualification method. The national semifinals were moved to Saturday and

10248-559: The newly named floor by defeating the Albion College (MI) Britons in an exhibition game. On July 23, 2003, John Wooden received the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the nation's highest civilian honor. It was presented by George W. Bush after a three-year campaign by Andre McCarter , who was on Wooden's 1975 National Championship team. The Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at California State University, Long Beach established

10370-422: The number of rounds remained the same. The double region naming was kept until 1956 , when the regions were named the East, Midwest, West, and Far West. In 1957 , the regions were named East, Mideast, Midwest, and West, which remained until 1985. Regions were paired in the national semifinals based on their geographic locations, with the two eastern regions meeting in one semifinal and two western regions meeting in

10492-509: The other four teams that are not in the championship. Teams in the NIT Season Tip-Off will play four games at campus sites prior to the eight teams' arrival in New York. The NIT Season Tip-Off tournament was not held in 2022 but did return for 2023 and subsequent years. Madison Square Garden hosted the semifinal and final rounds for the first three decades, since the tournament's inception. Beginning in 2015, Barclays Center in Brooklyn will hold

10614-476: The other semifinal. Beginning in 1946 , a national third-place game was held before the championship game. Regional third-place games were played in the West from 1939 and the East from 1941 . Despite expansion in 1951 , there were still only two regions, each with a third-place game. The 1952 tournament had four regions each with a third-place game. This era of the tournament was characterized by competition with

10736-472: The other two paired teams are the last at-large teams awarded bids to the tournament and compete for a seed line in the No. 10 to No. 14 range, which varies year to year based on the true seeds of the teams overall. The top four overall seeds are placed as No. 1 seeds in each region. The regions are paired so that if all the No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four true seed No. 1 would play No. 4 and No. 2 would play No. 3. The No. 2 teams are preferably placed so that

10858-448: The outcomes of the most games. In 2023, Sports Illustrated reported that an estimated 60 to 100 million brackets are filled out each year. The first tournament was held in 1939 and was won by Oregon . It was the idea of Ohio State coach Harold Olsen . The National Association of Basketball Coaches operated the first tournament for the NCAA. From 1939 to 1950, the NCAA tournament consisted of eight teams, with each selected from

10980-441: The overall rankings among the #1 seeds. Based on these rankings, the regions were paired so that the #1 overall seed would play the #4 overall seed in a national semifinal if both teams made the Final Four. This was to prevent the top two teams from meeting before the finals, as was largely considered the case in 1996 when Kentucky played Massachusetts in the Final Four. Previously, regional pairings rotated yearly. In 2010 , there

11102-411: The pre-season poll. The freshmen easily won the game by a score of 75–60. It was a powerful indication of things to come. A rule change was instituted for the 1967–1968 season, primarily because of Alcindor's towering play near the basket. The dunk shot was outlawed and would not be reinstated until the 1976–1977 season, which was shortly after Wooden's retirement. This was at least the second time that

11224-408: The press. In the 1971 NCAA championship game, Steve Patterson outscored Howard Porter of Jack Kraft 's scandal-plagued Villanova squad as UCLA won 68–62. The following year, UCLA had its closest game in all of Wooden's 10 championships, beating Hugh Durham 's Florida State team 81–76 to take the 1972 title. After the game, Bill Walton said, "We didn't play well." The 1972–1973 season was one of

11346-475: The program. Citing his loyalty to Taube, Wooden declined the offer, because this would have effectively made Taube a lame-duck coach. In 1948, Wooden again led Indiana State to the conference title. The NAIB had reversed its policy banning African-American players that year, and Wooden coached his team to the NAIB National Tournament final, losing to Louisville . This was the only championship game

11468-499: The rules committee had initiated change in response to the domination of a superstar player; in 1944, the goaltending rule was instituted to counter George Mikan 's dominant defensive play near the basket. In January, UCLA took its 47-game winning streak to the Astrodome in Houston , where the Bruins met Guy Lewis ' Houston squad, who had Elvin Hayes , Don Chaney , and Ken Spain , in

11590-415: The same conference are placed to avoid a rematch before the regional finals if they have played three or more times in the season, the regional semifinals if they have played twice, or the second round if they have played once. Additionally, the committee is advised to avoid rematches from the regular season and the previous years' tournament in the First Four. Finally, the committee will attempt to ensure that

11712-429: The same system that countless coaches use today. John Wooden stated, "I believe my system is perfectly suited to counter all the modern defenses I have seen, and that includes run-and-jump, 1–3–1 trapping, box-and-one, triangle-and-two, and switching man-to-man." Prior to Wooden's arrival at UCLA, the basketball program had only had two conference championship seasons in the previous 18 years. In his first season, he took

11834-490: The schedule in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The Selection Committee, which includes conference commissioners and university athletic directors appointed by the NCAA, determines the bracket during the week before the tournament. Since the results of several conference tournaments occurring during the same week can significantly impact the bracket, the Committee often makes several brackets for different results. To make

11956-404: The selection committee began releasing the top 16 seeds three weeks before Selection Sunday as a bracket preview. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the NCAA cancelled the 2020 tournament. Initially, the NCAA discussed holding a shortened version with only 16 teams in the Final Four host city of Atlanta. Once the vast scale of the pandemic was understood, the NCAA cancelled the tournament, making it

12078-528: The semifinals of the NCAA tournament. David Thompson was NC State's All-American, and Tom Burleson did an excellent job on defense against Bill Walton. UCLA had beaten the Wolfpack by 18 points early in the season, but things were different when they met in March. Wooden coached what would prove to be his final game in Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 1975, a 93–59 victory over Stanford . Four weeks later, following

12200-613: The spirit of the Coach. Wooden has schools and athletic facilities named after him. The gym at his alma mater Martinsville High School bears his name, and in 2005 a high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District was renamed to John R. Wooden High School . In 2003, UCLA dedicated the basketball court in Pauley Pavilion in honor of John and Nell Wooden. Named the "Nell & John Wooden Court", Wooden asked for

12322-473: The team to its first undefeated PCC conference title and a 17-game winning streak that came to an end only at the hands of Phil Woolpert 's University of San Francisco team (who had Bill Russell and K.C. Jones ) that eventually won the 1956 NCAA tournament . However, UCLA was unable to advance from this level over the immediately ensuing seasons, finding itself unable to return to the NCAA Tournament, as

12444-461: The team's small-sized players and fast-paced offense would be complemented by the adoption of a zone press defense, which increased the probability of turnovers by the opposing team. The result was a dramatic increase in scoring, giving UCLA a powerhouse team that went 30–0 on its way to the school's first basketball national championship and first undefeated season as the Bruins beat Vic Bubas ' taller and slower racially segregated Duke team 98–83 in

12566-507: The teams who did not make the title game received bronze plated trophies for being a semifinalist. The champions also receive a commemorative gold championship ring , and the other three Final Four teams receive Final Four rings. John Wooden As head coach: John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed " the Wizard of Westwood ", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in

12688-556: The tournament due to COVID-19 protocols during the 48 hours after the brackets were announced. Only one game was declared a no contest due to COVID-19, with Oregon advancing to the second round because VCU could not participate due to COVID-19 protocols. VCU was not replaced by one of the first four teams out because the COVID-19 infections started more than two days after the brackets were announced. The tournament returned to its regular format in 2022 . In response to protests from players in

12810-417: The tournament expanded to 40 teams and added a sixth round; 24 teams received byes to the second round. Eight more teams were added in 1980 with only 16 teams receiving byes, and the restriction on the number of at-large bids from a conference was removed. In 1983 , a seventh round with four play-in games was added; an additional play-in game was added in 1984 . Beginning in 1973 , the regional pairings for

12932-448: The tournament sized varied from as little as 8 to as many as 53. The field was restricted to conference champions until at-large bids were extended in 1975 and teams were not fully seeded until 1979 . In 2020 , the tournament was cancelled for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic ; in the subsequent season, the tournament was contested completely in the state of Indiana as a precaution. Thirty-seven different schools have won

13054-551: The tournament to date. UCLA has the most with 11 championships; their coach John Wooden has the most titles of any coach with 10. The University of Kentucky (UK) has eight championships, the University of Connecticut (UConn) and the University of North Carolina have six championships, Duke University and Indiana University have five championships, the University of Kansas (KU) has four championships, and Villanova University has three championships. Seven programs are tied with two national championships, and 23 teams have won

13176-419: The tournament, including 11 that are ineligible because they are transitioning to Division I. Key For each season starting in 1979, the 4 teams seeded No. 1 are shown with double underline , and 12 teams seeded between No. 2 and No. 4 are shown with dotted underline . Bold indicates an active current streak as of the 2024 tournament. *Kansas's 2018 appearance was vacated. As a tournament ritual,

13298-411: The tournament. The Bruins' 1967 incarnation returned with a vengeance with sophomore star Alcindor, reclaiming not only the conference title, but the national crown with another 30–0 season, and then retaining it every season but one until Wooden's retirement immediately following the 1975 NCAA championship. The resurgence of the Bruins under Wooden made it obvious that they needed a new home. Since 1932,

13420-408: The town of Martinsville when he was 14, Wooden led his high school team to a state tournament title in 1927. He was a three-time All-State selection. After graduating from high school in 1928, he attended Purdue University and was coached by Ward "Piggy" Lambert . The 1932 Purdue team on which he played as a senior was retroactively recognized as the pre- NCAA tournament national champion by

13542-478: The two semifinal games on Thanksgiving Day, as well as the championship game the following day. Barclays Center will also have the 2016 and 2018 semis and finals. In 2017, the tournament is scheduled to move over to the nearby Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum , which is in the process of getting a major renovation to its facilities. * – Denotes overtime period The field originally included Cincinnati , Arizona , Texas Tech and St. John's . An initial attempt

13664-529: The winning team cuts down the nets at the end of regional championship games as well as the national championship game. Starting with the seniors, and moving down by classes, players each cut a single strand off each net; the head coach cuts the last strand connecting the net to the hoop, claiming the net itself. An exception to the head coach cutting the last strand came in 2013 , when Louisville head coach Rick Pitino gave that honor to Kevin Ware , who had suffered

13786-1061: The year he won his 10th national championship, and never asked for a raise", wrote Rick Reilly of ESPN . He was given a Bruin powder blue Mercedes that season as a retirement gift. According to his own writings, Wooden turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers from owner Jack Kent Cooke that may have been ten times what UCLA was paying him.        National champion          Postseason invitational champion          Conference regular season champion          Conference regular season and conference tournament champion        Division regular season champion        Division regular season and conference tournament champion        Conference tournament champion When Wooden arrived at UCLA for

13908-453: Was adjusted to provided extended time for COVID-19 evaluation before the tournament began, with the First Four occurring entirely on Thursday, the First and Second Rounds pushed one day back to a Friday-Monday window, and the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight pushed to a Friday-Monday window as well. Teams ranked 69–72 by the Selection Committee were put on "standby" to replace any team that withdrew from

14030-740: Was also selected for membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Wooden is also an honorary member of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity. Wooden was nicknamed "The Indiana Rubber Man" for his suicidal dives on the hardcourt. He graduated from Purdue in 1932 with a degree in English . After college, Wooden spent several years playing professional basketball in the NBL with the Indianapolis Kautskys , Whiting Ciesar All-Americans , and Hammond Ciesar All-Americans , while he taught and coached in

14152-517: Was indispensable to the success of the UCLA program, not even Alcindor, as Sidney Wicks , Henry Bibby , Curtis Rowe , John Vallely , and Kenny Booker carried the Bruins to their fourth consecutive NCAA title with an 80–69 win over upstart Jacksonville , coached by Joe Williams . Wicks and Rowe double teamed 7-foot Artis Gilmore on defense and shut down the high-powered Jacksonville offense, which had been averaging 100 points per game. Gilmore and 5'10" Rex Morgan had been dubbed "Batman and Robin" by

14274-570: Was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (1960) and as a coach (1973), the first person to be enshrined in both categories. One of the most revered coaches in the history of sports, Wooden was beloved by his former players, among them Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ) and Bill Walton . Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players (including his "Pyramid of Success") many of which were directed at how to be

14396-478: Was left out because their conference was represented by top-ranked UCLA ; and Maryland in 1974 , which was ranked #3 but lost the ACC tournament championship game to eventual national champion North Carolina State . To accommodate at-large bids, the tournament expanded in 1975 to include 32 teams, allowing a second team to represent a conference in addition to the conference champion, and eliminated byes. In 1979 ,

14518-533: Was made to move the event to the bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World , but the tournament was eventually cancelled outright due to COVID-19 . NCAA Men%27s Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament , branded as March Madness , is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine

14640-467: Was possible was the 1996 when the Continental Airlines Arena , home court of Seton Hall , hosted. For the first and second rounds, eight venues host games, four on each day of the round. Each venue hosts two sets of four teams, referred to as "pods." To limit travel, teams are placed in pods closer to their home unless seeding rules would prevent it. Because each pod includes a top 4 seed,

14762-404: Was speculation about increasing the tournament size to as many as 128 teams. On April 1, 2010, the NCAA announced that it was looking at expanding to 96 teams for 2011 . However, three weeks later the NCAA announced a new television contract with CBS/Turner that expanded the field to 68 teams, instead of 96, starting in 2011. The First Four was created by the addition of three play-in games. Two of

14884-409: Was the same site as a regional championship and in other years a new site. With the expansion to 16 teams, the tournament retained the original format of the national semifinals being the regional finals in 1951 . For the 1952 tournament, there were four regions named East-1, East-2, West-1, West-2, all played at separate sites. The regional champions met for the national semifinals and championship at

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