Making March Madness

The Early Years of the NCAA, NIT, and College Basketball Championships, 1922-1951 (Sport, Culture, and Society)

By: Chad Carlson

Narrated by: Chris Snee

Throughout the NCAA Tournament’s history, underdogs, Cinderella stories, and upsets have captured the attention and imagination of fans. Making March Madness is the story of this premiere tournament, from its early days in Kansas City, to its move to Madison Square Garden, to its surviving a point-shaving scandal in New York and taking its games to different sites across the country.

Chad Carlson’s analysis places college basketball in historical context and connects it to larger issues in sport and American society, providing fresh insights on a host of topics that listeners will find interesting, illuminating, and thought-provoking.

The book is published by The University of Arkansas Press. The audiobook will be published by University Press Audiobooks.

“A well-written and entertaining addition to the tomes on the rise of college basketball to become today’s March Madness. (Journal of Sport History)

“Informative and enjoyable...will be of use to scholars and aficionados alike.” (Murry Nelson, author of Big Ten Basketball, 1943-1972)

“An engaging listen.” (Choice)

©2017 The University of Arkansas Press (P)2019 Redwood Audiobooks

Madness in great ones must not unwatched go

"Madness in great one must not unwatched go"
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet

This book is an overview of the early days of college basketball, and various postseason tournaments that would evolve into what is commonly referred to as "March Madness". The overview discusses the organizers, the coaches, the teams, the decision making, and the results. There is a lot of data to consume, so unless you are already familiar with the era, you are likely to get lost in the avalanche of information.

It is worth noting that at one point the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was bigger than the NCAA Tournament. That has not been the case for many decades, and the NIT now more appropriately stands for "Not Invited Tournament" or "Not In Tournament". New York City was very influential in the rise of college hoops, and it's amusing to listen to a time when CCNY, NYU and Long Island were basketball powers instead of the teams that dominate the sport now.

What the book lacks is in-depth character portraits, or much discussion of the gambling scandals that plagued it in the early 1950s. Yes, the scandals are mentioned, but very thinly. And while the book does give some back ground on such characters as James Naismith (the inventor) and Phog Allen, I would have loved to learn more about Oklahoma A&M's Bob "Foothills" Kurland or George Mikan.

The narrative is very dry, as the author discusses very briefly the scheduling and teams each year...plus some of the business decisions, and how the sport reflected larger society in regards to war and racism. More such discussion would have added a human element, whereas the book actually came across more like an encyclopedia than a compelling narrative.

Some interesting information, but a book marred by robotic writing, and dull narration.