March Madness

Written by Dan DelViscio

It’s March Madness month with all the college basketball teams squaring off to see who will come out on top.

That got me thinking about how we came up with the term of “March Madness.” I started doing some research and found that the phrase originated in Illinois in 1908 to describe the enthusiasm surrounding the state-wide high school basketball tournaments. "March Madness" was first coined by Henry V. Porter, who began his career as a teacher and coach at Athens High School in central Illinois.1

In 2005 the DSU men's basketball team appeared in their first NCAA tournament, but unfortunately that appearance was against Duke University. The game was held at the Charlotte Coliseum in North Carolina with the Duke Blue Devils as the #1 seed and the Delaware State Hornets the #16 seed.² Despite the loss, DSU Coach Greg Jackson was quoted saying, “It's still a loss, but I think what these kids did tonight says a lot about our conference. I think this game sent a message to the country that you have to deal with Delaware State University. I'm proud of my kids.”

Let us know who you are rooting for in the up-coming matchups! Coming from Philadelphia, I’ll be keeping an eye on Villanova, Saint Joseph, and Temple to see how they do.

1. "March Madness History." March Madness History. Accessed March 16, 2016. http://www.ihsa.org/SportsActivities/MarchMadnessExperience/MarchMadnessHistory.aspx.

2. "NCAA® March Madness®: Duke vs. Delaware State." TV.com. Accessed March 16, 2016. http://www.tv.com/shows/ncaa-march-madness/duke-vs-delaware-state-1221504/.