Though everyone today associates March Madness with the mania of the March NCAA tournament, did you know March Madness was originally the name of an Illinois high school basketball tournament over a century ago?

The original tournament was a high school boys’ basketball tournament sponsored by the IHSA beginning in 1908. By the 1930s, over 900 schools were competing in the tournament. The term ‘March Madness’ was first used in an article of the IHSA magazine, “Illinois Interscholastic,” by the assistant executive secretary of the IHSA. The term ‘Sweet Sixteen’ was used to describe the field of teams participating in the University of Illinois’ Huff Gymnasium tournament.

The term began being used by the IHSA on official merchandise and for the next several decades, March Madness was the common phrase for the tournament. By the 1980s, the IHSA had acquired ‘March Madness’ and ‘America’s Original March Madness’ as registered trademarks. Use of the phrase is now subject to licensing fees to the IHSA, of which a significant portion goes to scholarships for Illinois boys and girls.

You can read more about the origins of March Madness here.