NCAA Championship Celebrations: Traditions That Define Victory

Every year, college basketball fans around the world eagerly anticipate March Madness, one of the most thrilling annual tournaments. The culmination of this event is not just the crowning of a champion, but the ensuing celebration filled with traditions that have become synonymous with victory.

Cutting Down the Nets: A Symbolic Mountaintop

One tradition stands out: the cutting down of the nets. This iconic moment is a staple of March Madness, symbolizing the end of a season-long journey and the achievement of reaching a new pinnacle. It's not only for national champions, though. Players, coaches, and support staff get to climb a ladder and claim a piece of the net as a memento of their triumph. Now, the ceremonial cutting of the net is the culmination of the season-long journey college teams pour their lives into. The tradition is a symbolic mountaintop, this one is just at the top of a ladder next to a basketball hoop.

The Origin of a Tradition

Everett Case, a legendary coach at NC State in the 1940s, is widely credited with initiating the net-cutting tradition. After his Wolfpack team won the Southern Conference championship in 1947, Case wanted a souvenir to remember the victory. He had his players hoist him up so he could cut down the net and keep a piece as a token. He took over in 1946 and his Wolfpack team won the Southern Conference championship the following season. After the conference tournament win, he wanted a souvenir from the moment. He sat atop his player's shoulders as he cut down the net so he could keep a piece. It started as an opportunity for players and coaches to take home a small token from their victory. Now, it's an opportunity for each member of a program to get much-deserved recognition from peers and fans. And still take home a piece of the victory, too.

Case spent 23 years coaching high school basketball in Indiana, where he may have first cut down nets before bringing the ceremony to the college game.

The Evolution of the Tradition

What began as a personal keepsake for Coach Case has evolved into a widespread celebration. The tradition spread after NC State's Southern Conference title in 1947 where Case's players hoisted him to chop down the net for a souvenir. From there, other programs caught wind and started celebrating their championship wins in the same fashion. Now, men's and women's teams across college and high school play cut down the net to culminate the end of an emotional journey. During March Madness, net cutting ceremonies are broadcast to display one of the most emotional moments throughout a season.

Today, it's common to see walk-ons, team managers, assistants, and other support staff participate in the net-cutting ceremony. While wearing championship shirts and hats, a moment is shared with onlookers atop the ladder, an opportunity to exclaim joy before taking a piece of the net.

Just last week, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville coach Brain Barone broke out a pair of scissors he hung up in his team's locker room over six years ago. His Cougars won the Ohio Valley Conference championship game, qualifying for their first NCAA tournament since making the leap to Division I. To celebrate the trip to the Big Dance, SIU-Edwardsville cut down the nets with the same pair of scissors that stared upon them for years.

When Do Teams Cut Down the Nets?

Cutting down the nets now symbolizes accomplishment and the end of a hard-fought journey. In some instances, the journey isn't over. Teams cut down nets when they win their conference title, win their region to advance to the Final Four and of course, when they win a national title. It's not just NCAA tournament champions who cut down nets. Teams often cut down the net after a conference championship, regional title to advance to the Final Four and winning other postseason tournaments. Certainly the last team standing in March will cut down the net after their final game, but there are other opportunities along the way.

Some top teams have elected to hold on any net-cutting ceremonies until they met their ultimate goal of a national championship, though. Just last year, UConn's women's team decided to leave the net alone after they won their region in the NCAA tournament to advance to the Final Four. The Huskies fell short of their main goal with a difficult loss to Iowa in the Final Four, but taking down the nets after their regional win felt premature to the championship-minded squad.

Memorable Net-Cutting Moments

Ironically, the most memorable net-cutting moment in March Madness came from where it all began: NC State. After Case sparked the tradition when he cut the net following the school's conference title in 1947, legendary Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano was said to have his players practice cutting down the nets through his tenure in the 1980s. Valvano thought the practice strategy would help his team envision themselves as winners, which would eventually manifest itself. In 1983, his NC State team made an impropable run to win the NCAA tournament as a six-seed. They one the title game off a buzzer-beating dunk, which famously sent Valvano running around the court to celebrate one of the greatest college basketball games ever. The late legendary coach's non-basketball practice paid off. And they were prepared for the championship celebration.

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The year before, Michael Jordan got to cut down the net as his North Carolina Tar Heels team celebrated the 1982 title. The moment was legendary coach Dean Smith's first title, while basketball legend James Worthy was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies have cut down the nets after winning back-to-back titles the past two seasons.

Midnight Madness: A Celebration to Kick Off the Season

Another significant tradition in college basketball is "Midnight Madness," an annual event that celebrates the upcoming season. It's a pep rally combined with the team's first official practice open to the public. Midnight Madness is an annual event celebrating the upcoming college basketball season in which a team opens its first official practice to the public, often combining it with a pep rally and other fan-friendly activities. The tradition originated from teams holding public practices at midnight on the earliest day that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) would allow a practice to be held.

The Origins of Midnight Madness

The tradition dates back to 1971 when coach Lefty Driesell at the University of Maryland invited the public to a 1.5-mile team run on October 15. The early practice session was attended by 3,000 fans at the track surrounding Byrd Stadium on the University of Maryland campus. Driesell continued the annual midnight practice session throughout his tenure at Maryland, and brought the tradition with him when he became head coach at Georgia State University.

In 1982, coach Joe B. Hall and the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team began to officially promote a celebration dubbed "Midnight Madness" as a school event with formal entertainment acts and an invited student audience. This event was held in Memorial Coliseum and held 8,500 people in the then-12,500 seat gym.

Evolution and Expansion

Midnight Madness has evolved significantly since its inception. Big Blue Madness is now televised and hosts celebrities including Drake, who performed in 2014. Another of the more famous events is "Late Night in the Phog" at Kansas, which was started in 1985 by Larry Brown and is now broadcast in live streaming video via the Internet. The event has caught on on most campuses; various programs have given away T-shirts and allowed players do stunt dunks and half court shots. Some schools schedule intrasquad scrimmages, three-point shooting contests and/or slam dunk contests.

Modern Midnight Madness

In the 21st century, most basketball programs from large Division I schools have planned a pep rally with MCs, music, dancing and other festivities to encourage support of the program. Celebrity guests and alumni participate in entertaining the students. In 2013, a new NCAA rule established some flexibility around the opening of a team's practice sessions. Prior to the 2013â14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season men's and women's basketball teams were not permitted to practice prior to the Friday closest to October 15. on October 15, 1971, by inviting the public to a 1.5 mile team run.[1] The early practice session was attended by 3,000 fans at the track surrounding Byrd Stadium on the University of Maryland campus.[2] Driesell continued the annual midnight practice session throughout his tenure at Maryland, and brought the tradition with him when he became head coach at Georgia State University.

One celebratory function of the evening is often to raise NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament or Final Four banners to the rafters in an official ceremony.

In 2008, some teams attempted to host Midnight Madness in association with special early restricted practices instead of the first day of regular practices. These universities felt that since their football teams had home games the week before the opening date of formal practices, which had become the traditional Midnight Madness date, they would be better off holding Midnight Madness on the weekend before. In 2008, teams were allowed to practice two hours per week between September 15 and October 17 under what is known as the "Offseason Workout Rule," and at least four notable public "practice" sessions (by Illinois, Kentucky, Marshall and West Virginia) were held during these weekly practices before daily practices were permitted. At the University of Illinois, the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball and women's basketball teams hosted scrimmages at Memorial Stadium after an October 11 game between the Illinois Fighting Illini football team and the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. Since the attendance for the football game was 62,870, this event was described as the "World's Largest Basketball Practice". Illinois head coach Bruce Weber had also received permission for the early practice festivities from the NCAA. He had proposed having a September 13 session in association with a home football game against LouisianaâLafayette.

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