Most Popular Course Now? Bracketology!

Every year, the month of March triggers a madness for bracketology.

The study of bracketology has become a subject of annual interest during NCAA Basketball's March Madness season. Around this time, die-hard college basketball fans grab their favorite college throwback jerseys, sit religiously in front of their television set and listen to college hoops analyst Dick Vitale with a beer in one hand and a pen in the other, praying their tournament bracket turns out the way they envisioned it.

The tournament has existed for over 66 years. When the tournament began in 1939, it consisted of eight teams but has since evolved steadily upward. In 1985, the bracket number expanded to a 65-team dance.

Across the nation, college basketball in March has become a favorite, with print and on-line bracket pools exploding along with it. "When it comes to the NCAA tournament, I would get the paper and keep up with the brackets occasionally,” stated James Marinaccio, long-time biology professor at RVCC. “I'm not a huge sports fan, but when tournament time arrives, it’s fun to see the effort the players put into it along with the NCAA."

"The bracketology thing, I'm involved in. I love seeing how my choices pan out. I've been doing it since it first started," said Greg Jackson, assistant athletic director at RVCC and huge supporter of Ohio State/UCLA programs.

"I used to get into it in high school. Kids used to pass around the bracket sheets and pay $5 to get in," said RVCC student Jared Pasko.

The effort given to it isn't just a want but a need. "I've done plenty. Come on, it’s college basketball. Who doesn't get into it?" UNC Tar Heel fan and student of RVCC Russell Starling said.

The evolution has even had an impact in the workplace, too. Work pools are very popular these days. Said Chris Wood, a DMJM+HARRIS worker and student at RVCC: "I don't really do the online thing, but at work we really get into the pools. About 150 people at work get involved and put in about $20 each."

Today, these pools, whether print or on-line, are very accessible. If you go on ESPN.com, they have college analyst Joe Lunardi, who helps with strategies or predetermined seedings to give you an idea of the teams that will be in the tournament and the ones on the bubble. Online, there are various pools that you can choose from to fit your needs. They have them so you and your friends fill out the bracket completely prior to the first tip-off. After each day of competition, the site will calculate your scores so you can check them daily.

"A couple of my buddies and I from about six different states will join the brackets that ESPN provides. Ours grow every year. The pool is already set up for you, and pretty much the only thing you need to do is fill them in and check your status," said RVCC Spanish Professor and UConn fan Aaron Merino. "It's insane how some people join these bracketology pools but don't know a thing about basketball. It's amazing sometimes the people who win the pools base their predications on the color of the team's jerseys or something.

"The first two rounds in the brackets are very important, because every year that's when the top seeds go down. One of my superstitions is I have to have a 10-seed upset, because that seems to always happen," Merino said. During this tournament, teams are seeded from one to 16 in four regional groups around the country.

"I like the tournament only when UNC makes it. I bleed North Carolina blue," Danielle Hobbs, a student and president of the Black Student Association, stated with a glare in her eyes. "It's the best when rivalry teams pair up."

The eventual winners of those four regions gather together at the Final Four in a specific location. This year, it will be held at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The four seeds play the tournament through single elimination until a national champion is awarded.

The anticipation of this event has grown constantly. "I'm intrigued by the interaction, energy, and emotion that the athletes give every time they step on the court," Jackson said. Fans show a great deal of interest because when the tournament season is in progress, there is a feeling that their team could win if they get in.

"As far as the tournament goes, if you lose you go home and that makes it so great," Merino stated. During March Madness many tune in because there's always a chance for a Cinderella team; viewers seem to gravitate to the team with the least chance to win. "I'm not into watching college basketball all that much, but when the tournament starts I like to root for the underdog," Tarana Baldwin, academic adviser at the Franklin Center, said.

Men's college basketball may get most of the hype but the women basketball can be just as well. "The woman ball players can get down," said Jackson. Some may even make the case that woman basketball is more interesting. Speech Prof. Russell Lawyer said, "I'm more drawn to the women’s program. The women play more of a team concept. In men's basketball, a lot of the elite programs have one to three athletes who are featured, when in women basketball that's rarely the case."

The Woman’s NCAA Division I Tournament runs March 18-April 4. Among the contenders for the championship is New Jersey’s very own Rutgers Lady Knights who are ranked sixth nationally by the Associated Press.

Lawyer stated: "I usually get into the women's, but the David versus Goliath mystique in the men's game that sneaks up on a team is exhilarating."

Ultimately the tournament is an example of teamwork, and fans should be considered a part of it. They come painted with their favorite team colors, dressed in apparel to support their team, or even dressing up to resemble their favorite athlete, like the Gonzaga fans do for Adam Morrison, with everyone in the crowd displaying his long hairdo and trademark mustache. "The school, fans, and teachers really get into it and show support for their teams," Merino said.

"I've been to a tourney. Man, I tell you the atmosphere is just crazy. The passion of those fans is just phenomenal," Jackson said.

For many, NCAA basketball provides what is lost now in the NBA. In an era when defense is pretty much non-existent among most NBA teams, many of the fans in basketball figure that college ball is where real basketball is played. "College basketball is basketball at its purest form," said Ted Black, a Syracuse fan and assistant coach of the RVCC.

"I don't watch much pro ball anymore, because some of the passion is lost, whereas in college it is growing," said Jackson. To many, it seems that collegiate players are having fun and NBA players have lost some of the love of the game. "Everyone plays harder and it's not all about the money. It's about winning, and performance isn't based on your contract year," said RVCC/Rutgers student and Ohio State Buckeye fan Summit Agarwal. Prof. Merino agreed, saying: "The rivalries are one of the many things that separate colleges play in both men's and women's basketball from the pros today. Those players are playing for pride and not a $10 million dollar signing bonus."

This prestigious college basketball tournament gives fans all over the nation the opportunity to witness greatness on the brink, such as Lew Alcindor (UCLA), Bill Walton (UCLA), Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati), Jerry West (West Virginia), Patrick Ewing (Georgetown), Akeem Olajuwon (Houston), Michael Jordan (North Carolina), and many others. Also the tournament created names for many who didn’t become great NBA players but legends in college basketball like Norte Dame's Austin Carr, who holds the all-time best scoring average 41.3, Duke’s Christian Laettner, the all-time leading scorer in the tournaments history with 407 points in 23 games, and Duke’s Bobby Hurley, with a won-loss record of 18-2 and the leader in total assists with 145.

Over this long tradition of this tournament, there have been many games that signify the greatness of the tournament, and if you ask any fan of college basketball about their most memorable moment of game you would receive either one of two expressions. The first expression is the glazed eyes of excitement with a sigh of relieve and second is a frown that just says what-if. Most can describe each play from the moment the ball is in the referee’s hands at tip-off to when that final buzzer sounded. "The most memorable games are the one's that you've lost. With me being a Syracuse fan, my most memorable is when Keith Smart hit the 15 foot -jumper with five seconds left to beat us," Black said with the frown that just says what if.

A lot of the games are memorable because of their effect they on your wallet. "Most memorable for me is when Vermont played a strong Syracuse team and upset them, which really screwed up my bracket." Agarwal regretted.

Do your bracketology research, because Cinderella may be bringing her glass slippers to the ball. If you're interested in filling a bracket out just pick-up a newspaper or log-on your computer search for online brackets. And remember pick your brackets with your brain not your heart. In the sweet words of future Hall of Fame analyst Dick Vitale "Have your popcorn ready, baby!!" because it's going to be a thriller.

Early Prediction: Villanova