March Madness 2025

Trademark: March Madness

First Used: March 1982

Current Owner: THE NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION [1]

Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark

Primarily Associated With: entertainment in the nature of basketball tournaments between college teams [2]

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:

It is mid-March which can only mean one thing: March Madness® is almost here! Conference tournaments are still playing out, this weekend on Selection Sunday® the bracket will be set, and next week The Big Dance® will officially begin. (EDIT: Congratulations to the Florida Gators for their thrilling victory over the Houston Cougars in the 2025 Final Four)!

The first Division 1 men’s college basketball tournament was played in 1939 between 8 teams (Oregon beat Ohio State for the championship). The tournament size grew to 16 teams in 1951, 32 teams in 1975, 64 teams in 1985, and to 68 teams in 2011 with the additional of the First Four games.

The term “March Madness” was first used in 1939 in reference to an Illinois High School basketball tournament by an Illinois high school official, Henry Porter. The connection to college basketball wasn’t made until Brent Musberger used it during coverage of the 1982 tournament. March Madness is now a registered trademark in connection with entertainment services [4], apparel [5], basketballs and basketball backboards [6], magazines and trading cards [7], providing sports information online [8], carbonated soft drinks [9], cups and mugs [10], and video files and multimedia content [11], among other goods and services.

Although March Madness is the most widely known nickname for the NCAA tournament, it also goes by other nicknames like The Big Dance. This nickname allegedly originated in 1977 from Marquette basketball coach Al McGuire who famous exclaimed to a reporter “you gotta wear the blue blazer when you go to the big dance.” The Big Dance is now a registered trademark for souvenir programs [12], sponsorship services for intercollegiate basketball games [13], entertainment services for intercollegiate basketball tournaments [14], and apparel [15], among other goods and services.

It all kicks off this weekend with Selection Sunday. Selection Sunday is a registered trademark for promoting sports competitions and events in the field of basketball and entertainment in the nature of a television show in the field of games, tournaments, exhibitions and events at the college level, among other services [16].

Interested in learning more about trademarks from other 2025 sporting events? Check out our 2025 posts on College Football National Championship, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, NBA Finals, WNBA Finals, World Series, and MLS Cup.

Copyright © 2025 by Illustrated IP, LLC. All rights reserved.

---

[1] NCAA, https://www.ncaa.org/.

[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,485,443, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74360563&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[3] March Madness history: A comprehensive guide to the men's tournament, NCAA, https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2025-02-13/march-madness-history-comprehensive-guide-mens-tournament; The origins of March Madness: What’s the madness all about?, HUNGRY FAN, available at https://hungryfan.com/blogs/resources/the-origins-of-march-madness-what-s-the-madness-all-about?.

[4] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,571,340, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73785419&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,478,254, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74365985&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[6] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,425,958, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74408129&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[7] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,425,962, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74623924&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[8] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,025,527, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76593376&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[9] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,303,263, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76978623&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[10] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,430,117, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=85980298&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[11] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 6,184,413, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88862440&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[12] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,791,560, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75468606&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[13] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,719,537, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75468607&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[14] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,480,288, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75468619&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[15] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,446,721, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75468620&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[16] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 5,128,049, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=87064240&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.