Now that I am far into the project with all my research done its time to now think about my essay. Also I will show my essay at the end of this. When I wrote my first draft I didn’t really understand what to do so I just each sub question as a body paragraph. After reading several examples and starting to understand it much more I was able to think of a claim, “There are three ways that March Madness has evolved and 6 teams have has the most success competing in the tournament.” Using this I began my essay. I started off with an introduction that I didn’t really like. After a couple of days of thinking I finally thought of the perfect hook. Next I made three different body paragraphs that each had a reason from my thesis. I put all my research in for each body paragraph. The next part of my essay was the conclusion. This part was simple for me because I restated my claim and ended it by giving the reader to think about. The next and final part of my Essay was feedback and revisions. I spent tons of time looking over my essay for any possible revisions. After that I asked some friends to read my essay and give me some feedback. Then after fixing everything and making my essay the best possible essay I could make it. I loved it a lot. But this isn’t the end I still have to make my script. Here is the essay though:
The Evolution of March Madness
by Ben
Think of this… A tournament played every year that takes place in March. Several Division 1 college basketball teams compete in one of the biggest sports events. Can you guess what it is? If you guessed March Madness then you’re correct. But March Madness wasn’t always the fun, crazy and awesome basketball tournament played every year. So how has it changed? I’m sure that now you are now wondering how March Madness has changed. Lucky for you, I’m about to save you a lot of time because in this essay I’m going to be showing you different ways that March Madness has evolved and what teams have had the most success competing in it. March Madness has evolved because of the Pod System, the change from eight teams in 1939 till now where 68 teams compete and because of the invention of bracketology. And six teams that have had the most success competing in March Madness.
One way that March Madness evolved is the creation of the pod system. For example, in the early 2000’s the NCAA basketball committee decided that they were sending too many teams too far from home. They came up with what they call a pod system where they put teams to play as close to home as possible. They try to keep it relative to what seed (Which is the number your team is given based on your skill and wins that season) the teams are in, while still keeping them as close to home as possible.
Another way March Madness evolved is the changes from having eight teams compete in the tournament in 1939 until now where 68 teams compete. In 1939 there were only eight teams in the tournament. By 1951 there were 16 teams in the tournament. Then, in 1975, they doubled the number to 32 teams in the tournament. In 1985, they expanded the number of teams to 64 teams competing in the tournament. The person I interviewed, professional writer Michael DeCourcy, states, “The move to 64 teams in 1985 was super important and it really changed the tournament in a good way.” In 2001, after the Mountain West Conference joined Division I and received an automatic bid, pushing the total teams to 65, a single game was added prior to the first round. In 2011, they expanded it to 68 teams.
My final way that March Madness has evolved is the invention of bracketology. Bracket pools changed the tournament because it has helped the tournament grow and get more popular. The bracket pools used to be not that popular, but as they got more and more popular the more the tournament started to grow. Also, in order to have the publication of the bracket done, instead of having to put it in people’s mailboxes there had to be a way of knowing which teams were in the tournament. 7 years after the internet was first created Joe Lunardi started experimenting with how to project the tournament and that’s where bracketology was born. In order to facilitate the tournament bracket without having to put several copies of paper into people’s mailboxes. That’s another element of the tournament that has changed.
The 6 teams that have had the most success competing in March Madness are Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Duke and Indiana. For example, Kentucky has competed the most in 58 different tournaments. North Carolina competed 50 times, Kansas competed 48 times, UCLA competed 47 times and Duke competed 43 times. You also get a total win count of how many games you win in the tournament. Kentucky has won 129 total games. North Carolina has won 126 total games, Kansas has won 108 total games, UCLA has won 101 total games and Duke has won 111 total games. Also there are championship games where if you win it you win the tournament. UCLA, Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke and Indiana have won the most championships or as some people call it “titles”. UCLA has won the most championships winning 11. Kentucky has won 8, North Carolina won 6 championships, Duke won 5 and Indiana also won 5 championships.
In conclusion, March Madness has evolved because of the Pod System, the change from eight teams in 1939 till now where 68 teams compete and because of the invention of bracketology. And the 6 teams that have had the most success competing in March Madness include Kuntucky, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Duke and Indiana. Next time, whether you are rooting for your favorite team that is about to win the championship or when you are mad because your team just lost in the tournament, just remember this tournament has changed over the years.