Brent Musburger Explains History Of March Madness Name

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Speaking Monday on the Rich Eisen Show, Musburger says he took the name from an auto dealer in Chicago who called the local high school tournament, “March Madness.” He then went and applied the term to the college tournament, and people fell in love with it from there.

The NCAA went to copyright the name, and a lawsuit broke out. The high school association in Illinois sued the NCAA, and ended up with a settlement. Obviously the NCAA then gained ownership of the phrase, and use it heavily to this day.