The NCAA Basket ball tournament is amongst the premier sporting extravaganza in the United States. American college basketball’s 68 plus teams fight it out to be the ultimate champion. This tournament comprises of 4 regions: South, East, West and the mid west.
NCAA March Madness refers to that special time in the month of March, year on year, when these quality college teams from each zone compete, tussle and give it their all to win the coveted NCAA championship. The NCAA competition has a historical past filled with intense, nerve wracking and pressure filled situations and many a David beats Goliath story that is part of basketball folklore. Many an unheralded small school has defeated bigger names and rewritten the records over the years. For the 2012 NCAA championship, Michigan State, Kentucky, North Carolina and Syracuse are the top seeds and start as the favorites to win this year’s national title. It is a point of surprise that none of the top seeds for 2011 made it to the final four. Let’s all wait eagerly to see how the NCAA 2012 pans out.
When March Madness of the NCAA begins, the whole nation comes to a standstill and waits with bated breath for the college teams to entertain and achieve basketball greatness. The selection committee seeds the participating teams from #1 to # 16 and assigns the teams into one of 4 zones or regions based on their location. They make a concentrated effort to ensure that the teams play in venues close to their base location without compromising on the quality of the match ups.
Also known as the Big Dance, the popular event has a major fan following and ticket sales create a huge frenzy. Here are some inside information about the mega tournament. The unique nature of the NCAA championship extends beyond the 68 team format, ranking system and games to even the way in which tickets are sold. Only 30% of the tickets are available to the general viewer and public and the remaining 70% is divided amongst the top 4 schools with the corporate broadcast partners like Coca Cola, AT&T and Capital One getting their fair share. The NCAA championship has made a little more than $5.2 billion in ad revenue from 275 plus sponsors since 2002. Basketball betting during March Madness runs into millions of dollars as well. Ticket prices range from $ 250 to much more depending on the demand and fan following. While college sports in many countries are participant driven, the NCAA stands out because of the involvement of fans and the craze for tickets. The existing fan base for basketball coupled with the anticipation among the fans to discover the next big professional player from the college championships adds to the popularity of the NCAA tournament.
Extraordinary drama, major upsets and burning passion are an outline and hallmark of every single NCAA Competition. That is why you should buy NCAA Competition passes these days to observe the excitement of an NCAA Tournament game for yourself and live it up to the March madness 2012! If you are unlucky and cannot get passes, worry not. All top television channels of the country broadcast every one of these games. So, get friends together and enjoy March Madness in your drawing rooms.
