xubrew
05-02-2014, 01:29 PM
I've become very interested, and curious, about the history of college basketball. The more interested I become, the more I realize that there just isn't much out there. At least if there is, I haven't found it yet.
This is a book that chronicles the history of college football from the first game in 1869 all the way up until ten years ago (when it was written), and I thought it was quite good and very interesting. I'd love to find something similar on the history of college basketball, but have not been able to.
http://www.amazon.com/College-Football-History-Spectacle-Controversy/dp/080187114X
I read "How March Became Madness," was put together by Eddie Einhorn. I thought it was going to be about the history of the NCAA Tournament, and I was particularly interested in it between the time it started in 1939 all the way up to 1979 when they began seeding the teams, but it wasn't like that at all. It was basically just a collection of essays from different players, commentators, writers and coaches. It was good for what it was, but it just wasn't what I was looking for.
I really don't know much other than the basic trivia.
-The longest running tournament that's still around today is the Southern Conference Tournament, which began in 1921.
-The NIT started in 1938, which was one year prior to the NCAA Tournament. The NABC wanted to start a tournament, but couldn't get it organized.
-At first, the NIT Tournament was played after the NCAA Tournament, and teams could actually play in both. The NIT winner was actually considered to be bigger because if the NCAA Tournament winner played and lost in the NIT, they suddenly weren't considered to be the best team anymore.
-In 1952, the NCAA was after the NIT, and the championship game was a rematch of the NIT Championship. This is when many people believe the NCAA became the bigger tournament.
-They started taking at-larges and seeding it in the late 1970s.
-UCLA played Houston in the Astrodome in 1968. There were over 50k people there, and the game aired in prime time and earned huge ratings. Many feel this is the moment college basketball became a major sport.
-TVS (whatever that was) would air one game a week (and on rare occasions two), which was normally a showcase game between highly ranked teams. This began either in the late 60s or early 70s. The games got big ratings, but largely because if you wanted to watch basketball, you had no other choice of games to watch. Most of the games featured UCLA, and the storyline was "Can UCLA's opponents upset UCLA??"
-CBS got the tournament in 1981 and turned it into a showcase.
That's really about it. I'd really like to get an idea, or find a book or documentary, that depicts what college basketball has been like throughout it's history.
The impression I'm under (and it could be wrong) is that college basketball was extremely popular in certain regional circles (NYC, Philly, Kentucky, Kansas, LA, etc), but wasn't a major sport nationally prior to CBS getting the tournament. It was kind of the perfect storm. In 1981, I think there were three buzzer beaters on the same day. In 1982, they had the Georgetown vs UNC final, and the Final Four that sold out the Superdome, and in 1983 it was Houston's Phi Slamma Jamma being a popular team to watch all year, and then losing to NC State who went on a huge run. By the time all that was over, college basketball was a major sport in America. It may have been a major sport prior to that, but it was definitely major after that. At least that's my impression. I can't say I lived through it.
Who was in charge of bracketing the tournament back in the 1940s, 50s and 60s??
What was it's popularity throughout it's history, especially prior to TV making it as popular as it eventually became??
What was the tournament like prior to CBS picking it up?? Were there office pools?? Did people even watch it??
You look at the ratings in the 70s, and they were huge, but there were also far fewer channels, so all ratings were huge compared to any program that's on today. So, was it actually as popular as the ratings indicate??
I know some of you lived through this. I'd be curious to learn what your thoughts are, if you have any. I'd also like to find a really good chronicled history, if there is one out there that exists.
This is a book that chronicles the history of college football from the first game in 1869 all the way up until ten years ago (when it was written), and I thought it was quite good and very interesting. I'd love to find something similar on the history of college basketball, but have not been able to.
http://www.amazon.com/College-Football-History-Spectacle-Controversy/dp/080187114X
I read "How March Became Madness," was put together by Eddie Einhorn. I thought it was going to be about the history of the NCAA Tournament, and I was particularly interested in it between the time it started in 1939 all the way up to 1979 when they began seeding the teams, but it wasn't like that at all. It was basically just a collection of essays from different players, commentators, writers and coaches. It was good for what it was, but it just wasn't what I was looking for.
I really don't know much other than the basic trivia.
-The longest running tournament that's still around today is the Southern Conference Tournament, which began in 1921.
-The NIT started in 1938, which was one year prior to the NCAA Tournament. The NABC wanted to start a tournament, but couldn't get it organized.
-At first, the NIT Tournament was played after the NCAA Tournament, and teams could actually play in both. The NIT winner was actually considered to be bigger because if the NCAA Tournament winner played and lost in the NIT, they suddenly weren't considered to be the best team anymore.
-In 1952, the NCAA was after the NIT, and the championship game was a rematch of the NIT Championship. This is when many people believe the NCAA became the bigger tournament.
-They started taking at-larges and seeding it in the late 1970s.
-UCLA played Houston in the Astrodome in 1968. There were over 50k people there, and the game aired in prime time and earned huge ratings. Many feel this is the moment college basketball became a major sport.
-TVS (whatever that was) would air one game a week (and on rare occasions two), which was normally a showcase game between highly ranked teams. This began either in the late 60s or early 70s. The games got big ratings, but largely because if you wanted to watch basketball, you had no other choice of games to watch. Most of the games featured UCLA, and the storyline was "Can UCLA's opponents upset UCLA??"
-CBS got the tournament in 1981 and turned it into a showcase.
That's really about it. I'd really like to get an idea, or find a book or documentary, that depicts what college basketball has been like throughout it's history.
The impression I'm under (and it could be wrong) is that college basketball was extremely popular in certain regional circles (NYC, Philly, Kentucky, Kansas, LA, etc), but wasn't a major sport nationally prior to CBS getting the tournament. It was kind of the perfect storm. In 1981, I think there were three buzzer beaters on the same day. In 1982, they had the Georgetown vs UNC final, and the Final Four that sold out the Superdome, and in 1983 it was Houston's Phi Slamma Jamma being a popular team to watch all year, and then losing to NC State who went on a huge run. By the time all that was over, college basketball was a major sport in America. It may have been a major sport prior to that, but it was definitely major after that. At least that's my impression. I can't say I lived through it.
Who was in charge of bracketing the tournament back in the 1940s, 50s and 60s??
What was it's popularity throughout it's history, especially prior to TV making it as popular as it eventually became??
What was the tournament like prior to CBS picking it up?? Were there office pools?? Did people even watch it??
You look at the ratings in the 70s, and they were huge, but there were also far fewer channels, so all ratings were huge compared to any program that's on today. So, was it actually as popular as the ratings indicate??
I know some of you lived through this. I'd be curious to learn what your thoughts are, if you have any. I'd also like to find a really good chronicled history, if there is one out there that exists.