Have you ever been part of one of those word association games where a particular word is given, and the responder is asked to give the first word that comes into their mind? If you have, you know how the game is played. My guess is if any sports fan were given the word Indiana, one of two responses would be foremost: either the Indianapolis 500 or, most likely, basketball.

Having spent considerable time in the Hoosier State over the years, I can attest it is definitely hoop heaven. Indiana basketball is akin to the fervor dedicated to football in Texas, where I spent my collegiate years. The legendary 1986 movie “Hoosiers” paid tribute to the one-of-a-kind Indiana high school basketball tournament, which for decades was played as a single-elimination all-encompassing tournament open to all schools in the state regardless of enrollment size.

During times spent in Indiana, I was able to experience the state’s excitement when Bobby Knight’s 1976 Indiana University team won the NCAA championship with a perfect record of 32-0 — the last team to do so. This is a feat that Gonzaga is trying to duplicate this year. I attended a state high school basketball playoff game with 15,000 SRO fans in attendance. When the “Hoosiers” movie was debuted in Indianapolis, I was fortunate to be among viewers of the beloved film. Along the way, I also had the privilege to witness the breath-taking spectacle of the Indy 500.

Like Texas, Indiana holds some very special sports memories for me, with many of them being fondly recalled when the NCAA decided to hold this year’s men’s basketball tournament in its entirety in the Hoosier state. Of course, the decision was reached as a means to limit the health chaos caused by the year-long COVID pandemic. Still, under the existing circumstances, they couldn’t have picked a better, more experienced location to enable the games to go forward.

The impetus and credit that has made Indianapolis the country’s amateur sports capital can be traced to William Hudnut, who served as the city’s longest-serving mayor from 1976-1992. A former Indiana Congressman, Hudnut’s goal as mayor was to change the city from India-No-place to India-SHOW-place. His years as mayor were defined by economic development in downtown Indianapolis, business, construction, and sports.

Hudnut’s sports dream was accomplished with grandeur. The city hosted the 1987 Pan American Games, the 1982 National Sports Festival, built the Indianapolis Tennis Center, the Major Taylor Velodrome, the IUPUI Natatorium, and formed a committee that built the Hoosier Dome. Much to the chagrin of fans in Baltimore, he secretly negotiated with then-Colt’s owner Robert Irsay to bring the Colts to Indianapolis. His leadership also attracted the NCAA to relocate its headquarters operation to the Circle City.

Personally, as then-Central Region Director for Little League Baseball, Dr. Creighton J. Hale and I had the opportunity to meet with Mayor Hudnut on occasions to review the city’s interest in establishing what would become Little League Baseball’s Central Regional Headquarters in Indianapolis. He was truly a man with vision and determination to make the city a vibrant sports center.

So, in these difficult times, it is fitting that Indianapolis and Indiana were selected as hosts for this year’s March Madness.

The term itself, March Madness (according to a 2004 article written by Brendan Koerner), traces back to the Illinois’ statewide high-school basketball tournament, which began in 1908. In 1939, an article penned by Henry V. Potter for an Illinois High School Association publication first used the phrase when he wrote, “A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel.”

The phrase was confined to Illinois high-school basketball until 1982 when CBS broadcaster (and ex-Chicago Daily News sportswriter) Brent Musburger used it during his network’s NCAA tournament coverage. In 1989, the IHSA applied to trademark “March Madness.” They clashed with the NCAA over the use of the term, and years of litigation followed. Rather than endure more rounds in court, the two sides eventually reached an agreement. The ISHA controls the name on the high-school level, while the NCAA gained a perpetual license to use the phrase in connection with the collegiate tournament.

There are some high-school basketball purists who insist the phrase “Final Four” was first used in connection with Indiana’s legendary annual tournament. However, the NCAA claims the term first appeared in a 1975 article for the Official Collegiate Basketball Guide. It has since been trademarked to reference the NCAA’s national semifinals.

There was also disagreement about the term “Sweet Sixteen,” which gets underway this weekend. This dispute was between the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and the NCAA. Similar to the ISHA debate, the two sides reached an agreement that split control along scholastic-collegiate lines.

While 42 teams of the original 68-team field have already gone home, the remaining 16 are in Indianapolis, with their dream of a national championship still alive. With many individual brackets already busted and with little fear of being publicly ridiculed, feel free to laugh at my “Sweet Sixteen” picks made back on March 15.
– West – Gonzaga vs. Creighton, Kansas vs. Iowa.
– East – Michigan vs. Florida State, Texas vs. Oklahoma
– South – Baylor vs. Purdue, Texas Tech vs. Ohio State
– Midwest – Illinois vs. Oklahoma State, West Virginia vs. Houston

Let the “madness” continue!