NCAA March Madness: Cinderellas, Superstars, and Champions from the NCAA Men's Final Four (Hardcover)

by Ncaa (Author) "THE TROPHY WAS SOMEWHAT BATTERED AND bruised, in two pieces, when it arrived in Eugene, Oregon, in the spring of 1939..." (more)
Key Phrases: most outstanding player award, national semifinals, semifinal game, Final Four, North Carolina, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
College basketball’s "biggest stage" gets a year-by-year treatment in this coffee-table book and accompanying DVD. The book covers the wildly popular sporting event of March Madness from its inception in 1939 (when the Oregon Ducks beat the Ohio State Buckeyes) to the 2004 crown (when top-ranked UConn triumphed over Georgia Tech). Each year’s game summary is written by a different newspaper sports editor, and most writers are matched with years in which their home team won the tournament. They document upsets, spectacular performances and gaffes, simultaneously charting college basketball’s evolution from a money-losing venture (the first tournament lost $2,531) to a forum on race (in 1962, Mississippi State refused an invite to the NCAA Tournament because it would have to play integrated teams) to a showcase of supreme athleticism (which Wooden, former UCLA coach and winner of 10 NCAA championships, laments: "If I want to see showmanship, I’ll go see the Globetrotters"). Although stiff pages make the book difficult to page through and keep open, fans probably won’t mind; they’ll be sucked in by the stories and photos of drama on the courts. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
This pictorial includes a DVD, making it an exciting multimedia slice of American sports and well worth its very reasonable price.From the NCAA itself comes a celebration of the Final Four, college basketball's most prestigious level of tournament play, in March Madness. Separated by decade and proceeding year by year, the book begins with the first Final Four showdown in 1939, which took place in Evanston, Illinois, and ended when Oregon beat Ohio State to become the first NCAA champions. The narration gives you not only the exciting action on the court but also the growing popularity of the tournament over time. What's interesting in looking back on great college ball is how many "regular guys" there were--great athletes who didn't go on to the pros, for whatever reason--standing shoulder-to-shoulder beside superstar athletes such as Russell, Chamberlain, and Jordan.

Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 145 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (IL); Har/DVD edition (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572436654
• ISBN-13: 978-1572436657
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 10.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #777,051 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars No question; March Madness is like a month of Superbowls., February 8, 2006

By	StraightRazr.com: A Comprehensive Lifestyle C... (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

And this book/CD package is a terrific companion to track and follow the history of the tournament.

It's funny how college basketball has become even more popular than pro in some markets. Its a shame there aren't more books and media on the tourament. We expect that to change soon. Until then, these combo package is just the ticket to track the stats, rankings and history of some of the most colorful matchups and Cinderella stories.

- GiddyupGuy