Latest news with #JackGohlke
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
College Basketball's Most Loyal Coach Faces Limits of His Success
This time last year, Oakland men's basketball coach Greg Kampe had just experienced what he called 'the greatest win I've ever been a part of' in his four-decade tenure leading the program. His No. 14-seeded Golden Grizzlies shocked the basketball world, pulling off an upset over John Calipari's No. 3-seeded Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The game was highlighted by a spectacular performance from Oakland transfer guard Jack Gohlke, who knocked down 10 3-pointers, propelling the team's sixth man into the national spotlight with NIL deals and newfound fame. Advertisement More from 'We're not a Cinderella,' Gohlke boldly declared in a post-game interview with CBS, his arm around Kampe, who has coached Oakland since Ronald Reagan's first term. If this were a Hollywood movie, the story might have ended there, but reality had other plans. In the second round of the tournament, Oakland fell short against NC State in a six-point defeat. Gohlke went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft, and Kampe signed a contract extension with Oakland, which might well be his last. Sportico will be publishing daily stories about March Madness throughout the men's and women's tournaments. To receive them in your inbox daily, sign up here via Club Sportico. Kampe reflected on his post-Cinderella experience in recent interviews with Sportico, recalling that 'not one person, no [other] university called to offer me a job.' Advertisement A year after experiencing his greatest victory, he was hitting the recruiting trail to refill the roster of a program that, more or less, was in much the same position as before it beat Kentucky. Since Syracuse's Jim Boeheim retired in March 2023, Kampe became the longest-tenured head men's basketball coach in Division I, and by a considerable margin. As such, his experience is both unique and relevant to the many non-power conference coaches who have looked to the NCAA tournament as a potential springboard to elevate their programs or careers. The lasting benefits of March success have become increasingly fleeting in recent years—especially for those who choose to stay put. For Kampe, there was no choice. By the time he finally found the glass slipper, there were no suitors. 'Probably, because they think I'm old,' the 69-year-old said. 'Maybe they see I have been here for 40 years and think I won't leave and don't ask.' Advertisement So, he signed a two-year contract extension last June that carries through the end of the 2028-29 academic year and reportedly pays about $400,000 annually, including bonuses. While other programs may not have been knocking down Kampe's door, a number of college basketball players certainly were for a time. However, most of those conversations ultimately went nowhere. 'Every 6-foot-5 white guy in the country called us after they saw Jack Gohlke,' Kampe said. 'But when I told them the number I could pay them, it was, 'Coach, thanks, but I can get more elsewhere.' What that game did was shine a light on Oakland, or how we played, but in essence, it didn't help. I had a kid who called me and wanted $200,000, and he was a really good player, but we don't have that type of payroll for our players.' Oakland has agreed to participate in next year's athlete revenue-sharing provisions, part of the House v. NCAA settlement, though the school has yet to decide how much it will distribute. Kampe said he was able to raise a 'significant amount of [NIL] money' by Oakland's standards, but even that spike feels short-lived. Advertisement 'Will I be able to do it again next year?' Kampe said. 'Probably not, because we didn't beat Kentucky this year.' As this past season unfolded, the 16-18 Golden Grizzlies were again on the cusp of another March Madness appearance. But those dreams were dashed with an overtime loss to Robert Morris in the Horizon League tournament semifinals. 'If you had the greatest banana pudding you've ever eaten and now you see other people eating it,' he said last week, reflecting on what it was like to watch this year's NCAA tournament from the (dis)comfort of home. On Thursday night, Kampe's former four-year starter Trey Townsend, the 2024 Horizon League Player of the Year, will suit up for Arizona in its Sweet 16 game against Duke. Two other one-time Oakland transfers, Chris Conway (Washington) and Micah Parrish (Ohio State), were key contributors to power-conference programs this year. According to Kampe, the trio of ex-Grizzlies earned a combined $1.2 million in NIL compensation this year. Advertisement 'I have three guys playing in the Power 5 this year who would have been on my team if the [transfer] portal didn't happen—imagine what we could have done in the old days,' Kampe said. 'Think about what this team could have been. Now, I am sounding bitter, which I don't mean to, but we would have been preseason top-30 and picked to win our league.' The current NCAA tournament has been a paean to impermanence, for players and coaches, as the month-long college basketball transfer portal opened earlier this week—just a day after the Round of 32 wrapped up. For this year's biggest Cinderella story, No. 12 seed McNeese State, head coach Will Wade led his team into their second-round matchup against No. 4 Purdue while having already secured his next job at N.C. State. Meanwhile, Maryland's $4-million-per-year coach Kevin Willard has proven even power conference programs are not immune from the industry-wide rest, bitterly signaling his intentions of leaving the Terrapins at every stage along his team's current Sweet 16 run. The closest he says he ever came to leaving Oakland was in the early 1990s, when Jack McCloskey, the former Detroit Pistons general manager, left to take over as GM of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He and McCloskey had become close friends and tennis buddies during their shared time in greater Detroit, and Kampe said McCloskey had made him the intriguing offer of becoming an assistant coach with the Timberwolves. He ultimately decided to pass on it, wary of the position's long-term stability. The only other time he nearly left was about three decades later, in 2011, following Oakland's back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. A school he declined to name made an intriguing financial offer that got his attention. 'It was a lot more money, but I didn't think it was more prestigious,' he said. Advertisement He said he hasn't received an inquiry from another program in about three years. 'I am just lucky my key works at Oakland,' Kampe said. 'One of these days it might not.' He recalls a conversation with Mike Leach, the late college football coach, who shared this piece of wisdom: For every year you coach at a school, half the people don't want you there. 'I told him, 'Mike, at this point, it would be one and a half people left,'' Kampe joked. His tenure has spanned those of 10 university presidents and seven athletic directors—including the two separate stints as AD he served while simultaneously coaching. Advertisement 'My interest, if I ever left Oakland, would be to go to a school with a legitimate shot at a Final Four,' he said. 'It's not about money. I've got enough to walk off into the sunset. I'm not chasing a payday.' Still, several days earlier, Kampe admitted that his loyalty, while deep, wasn't absolute. 'If UCLA called and offered me $3 million,' he said, 'I'd be there tomorrow.' Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
March Madness: How instant tourney sensations like Jack Gohlke capitalize on their brief moment in the spotlight
Jack Gohlke left his Pittsburgh hotel room the morning of March 21, 2024, about as anonymous as a college basketball player can be. By the time he returned that night, Gohlke had gone from Horizon League obscurity to overnight celebrity. There was only one reason Oakland coach Greg Kampe called upon Gohlke early in the Golden Grizzlies' first-round NCAA tournament matchup against Kentucky. Gohlke's job was to launch threes, to bomb away without a conscience. He took 335 shots during the regular season. All but eight were from behind the arc. Multiple future NBA guards chased Gohlke around screens during Oakland's stunning 80-76 takedown of Kentucky, but they had no answer for the 24-year-old grad transfer from Division II Hillsdale College. He drained 10 threes, each more audacious than the last. He curled around screens, stepped back, even pulled up from just inside the logo. [Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K] Gohlke only began to grasp the enormity of his achievement after Oakland's giddy locker room celebration subsided. His phone buzzed nonstop. His Instagram following climbed from 500 into the tens of thousands. Scott Van Pelt interviewed him on SportsCenter. The Pat McAfee Show booked him for the next morning. When Gohlke naively ventured into the stands in uniform to thank friends and family who had traveled to see him play, the response astonished him. Strangers who were watching the NC State-Texas Tech game in Pittsburgh swarmed Gohlke like he was a rockstar. 'I couldn't even walk around the arena because there were so many people stopping me for pictures, autographs, all that type of stuff,' Gohlke told Yahoo Sports. 'I was like, 'What is going on?' Honestly, it didn't register at all that people would care who I was.' While Gohlke was shrewd enough to realize that the flood of interest represented opportunity in the new NIL era of college athletics, he initially had no idea how to try to take advantage. He had no NIL agent or marketing representative. There previously hadn't been much of a market for a catch-and-shoot specialist from Pewaukee, Wisconsin. 'It was difficult to figure out what I should even do, much less how to find time to do it,' Gohlke said. 'I wanted to stay focused on our next game. I didn't want to divert my attention from that.' That might have been that, except Gohlke had a lifelong friend in the crowd that day who had interned for a sports agency a couple summers earlier. 'Jack's such a down-to-earth guy that, in his eyes, blowing up was almost a nuisance at that time,' Ben Miller told Yahoo Sports. 'But I knew this could be a big opportunity for him. I started thinking in my head how I could help him.' Gohlke's situation exemplifies why a hero moment early in the NCAA tournament seldom is the instant NIL lottery ticket it would seem to be. A breakout performance or buzzer beater typically has the shelf life of a carton of milk on a summer day. The March Madness news cycle moves too quickly for either a brand or an athlete to take full advantage. Brands only have a brief window to strike after a buzzy NCAA tournament moment until it loses relevance. Players have little to no free time to negotiate a deal or appear on camera during that window, between practices, walk-throughs, film sessions, media obligations and other preparations for some of the biggest games of their lives. In Gohlke's case, he had another game to play in less than 48 hours. 'It's definitely challenging,' said sports marketing executive Michael Ehrlich, founder and CEO of the brand consultancy and talent representation firm Playbook Marketing. 'If you're an athlete, you want to keep the main thing the main thing, but also in this NIL universe you have to strike while the iron is hot. You might have a Cinderella moment and then the next day you might be out of it.' Speed and creativity are key for companies determined to partner with an NCAA tournament flash in the pan. They must identify the next Ali Farokhmanesh, Tyus Edney or Bryce Drew as they're gaining traction on social media, hunt for contact information and negotiate a contract immediately and then find a way to create a campaign on the fly. Among those who excel at this are T-shirt companies who turn trends on social media into fan apparel, said AthleteZ PR founder Megan Curry, a former Adidas executive who transitioned into the NIL space four years ago. Owners of a T-shirt company might identify a buzzy NCAA tournament moment and create a couple designs based on it within hours. Then they'll reach out to the college athlete in question offering to pay a cut of the revenue in return for using his or her name, image and likeness. 'The terrible part is I don't know what percentage of the revenue these kids are actually getting,' Curry told Yahoo Sports. 'Is it 2%, 4%, 12%, 20%? Nobody will disclose what they're giving these kids, but these kids say yes because they want to capitalize on the moment.' Chain restaurants have also been successful partnering with unexpected NCAA tournament heroes. In 2022, Buffalo Wild Wings pioneered the idea by delivering boxfuls of wings to Saint Peter's star Doug Edert at the team hotel after the 15th-seeded Peacocks toppled Kentucky and Murray State to advance to the Sweet 16. Buffalo Wild Wings then inserted itself into the moment, paying Edert an undisclosed amount in return for taking pictures and video of himself celebrating by plowing through wings. Saint Peter's guard Doug Edert has signed an NIL deal with Buffalo Wild Wings 🍗 — Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 23, 2022 These deals come together in less than 24 hours, but sometimes it's very apparent that these athletes are not content creators by trade. 'To produce high-level content while they're focused on the biggest moments of their lives, it's always challenging,' Ehrlich said. 'You see a lot of athletes posting content from the lobby or a hotel ballroom. That doesn't necessarily have the premium feel of a large campaign.' DJ Burns, the gregarious star of 11th-seeded NC State's surprise 2024 Final Four run, was the athlete who had the most NIL success during last year's NCAA tournament. America fell in love with the teddy bear of a center who was built like a nightclub bouncer, moved like a ballet dancer and spoke with the charisma of a WWE superstar. View this post on Instagram A post shared by DJ Burns BIG 30♨️ (@dj.b30) Adidas, Raising Cane's, Intuit TurboTax and CVS Pharmacy were among the corporate brands that signed Burns to endorsement deals during the NCAA tournament. Ken Caldwell and Mike Naiditch, Burns' marketing managers, told Yahoo Sports on the eve of last year's Final Four that Burns made 'six figures' in endorsement revenue over the previous few weeks. 'If we did every single deal he's been offered, DJ wouldn't have time to play in the game on Saturday,' Naiditch said with a laugh before last year's Final Four. 'The game has to come first." When Gohlke's moment in the spotlight arrived, he didn't have time to search for a marketing representative like Naiditch. Gohlke instead left it in the hands of two trusted friends who grew up with him in the Milwaukee suburbs. Neither Miller nor Grant Basile were qualified to serve as Gohlke's makeshift agents, but they at least were familiar with the NIL space. Miller had interned at Athletes First during summer 2022 before deciding to become a financial analyst instead. Basile plays professional basketball in Italy and starred for Virginia Tech during the onset of the NIL era. The first thing Miller and Basile did was create an email address for inquiries and have Gohlke post it to his Instagram bio. Then they sifted through dozens of messages there and in his DMs in search of opportunities that might interest him. 'The easy part for Jack was we weren't some random, slimy NIL agent coming in trying to make a quick buck,' Miller said. 'This was friend to friend. He could trust us. That's what made the whole situation so fun and awesome.' While the majority of the messages Gohlke received were from NIL agents or basketball trainers peddling their services or from bitter Kentucky fans, Miller and Basile also discovered quite a few serious offers. One from TurboTax was the first to catch their eye. They thought it was fitting in light of all the social media jokes during the Kentucky game that Gohlke looked like a future accountant. When TurboTax proposed paying Gohlke to shoot a social media ad for them, Miller's response revealed his inexperience in contract negotiations. He immediately accepted the initial offer and triumphantly presented it to Gohlke. 'Did you ask for anything else?' Gohlke asked, causing Miller to go quiet. 'I forgot you're supposed to negotiate,' Miller responded, sheepishly. 'We took the first number.' On the off day between Oakland's first-round upset of Kentucky and its second-round matchup with NC State, Miller shot footage of Gohlke for the TurboTax spot on his iPhone in the ballroom of the Golden Grizzlies' team hotel. By the end of the weekend, Gohlke also recorded a video for OOfos slides with teammate Trey Townsend and an ad with Buffalo Wild Wings. Sent the game to overtime so that meant more great times @bwwings AND six free boneless wings. This March Madness, order using Blazin' Rewards before the last game of the day goes into overtime to receive the offer #OvertimeDeal #NIL #sponsored — Jack Gohlke (@jgohlke34) March 25, 2024 The experience of talking into the camera was 'really uncomfortable,' according to Gohlke, as was promoting himself on social media. Gohlke said he made 'a little below six figures' via endorsements by the end of last summer. That's pennies on the dollar compared to the high six-figure and low seven-figure NIL deals prized transfers or McDonald's All-Americans receive when they sign with a school, but it's very comparable to the money previous March Madness heroes have made. Before Oakland's game against NC State, Miller joked with Gohlke that he was one more win away from appearing on Good Morning America and other even more visible shows. Alas, that didn't materialize. Oakland's March joyride skidded to a halt with an overtime loss to the Wolfpack despite Gohlke's 22 points and 8 rebounds. Gohlke parlayed his success on the NCAA tournament stage into a summer-league stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The undrafted rookie free agent is currently playing limited minutes for the G-League's Motor City Cruise. When asked if he would do anything differently to further take advantage of his sudden fame last March, Gohlke said he's content with how he handled it. 'I didn't spend too much time worrying about it,' Gohlke said. 'I wasn't on my phone. I wasn't worried about those emails or DMs or anything like that. I was focused on the next game. I was fortunate to have my friends who could help me handle that stuff.' It was a memory that Miller says he'll treasure forever. While he has no plans to pursue a career as a sports agent, he's grateful he got a taste of that life while also helping a lifelong friend. 'What made it so fun was doing it for Jack,' Miller said. 'He could have easily just hired some random NIL agent, but instead he made awesome memories for all of us.'
New York Times
19-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Where are all the schools in the men's NCAA Tournament located? High Point, McNeese and more
The 2024 NCAA Tournament put Oakland University on the map. Correctly, in Michigan. Jack Gohlke, Greg Kampe and the Golden Grizzlies stunned third-seeded Kentucky in the first round last March, giving fans a reason to learn that the university is located in Oakland County, Mich., a half hour north of Detroit, and not in the California city formerly home to the Raiders and Athletics. Advertisement This year's tournament once again features a number of schools whose names don't immediately reveal their locale. Take, for instance, Bryant University, the 15th seed in the South. Or Lipscomb, Robert Morris and Wofford. The Athletic has mapped out the 68-team field, from Auburn to Saint Francis (Pa.), as well as the distance each team must travel to its first game. 1. Auburn Tigers (28-5) | Auburn, Ala. 2. Michigan State Spartans (27-6) | East Lansing, Mich. 3. Iowa State Cyclones (24-9) | Ames, Iowa 4. Texas A&M Aggies (22-10) | College Station, Texas 5. Michigan Wolverines (25-9) | Ann Arbor, Mich. 6. Ole Miss Rebels (22-11) | Oxford, Miss. 7. Marquette Golden Eagles (23-10) | Milwaukee 8. Louisville Cardinals (27-7) | Louisville, Ky. 9. Creighton Bluejays (24-10) | Omaha, Neb. 10. New Mexico Lobos (26-7) | Albuquerque, N.M. 11. San Diego State Aztecs (21-9) | San Diego 11. North Carolina (22-13) | Chapel Hill, N.C. 12. UC San Diego Tritons (30-4) | La Jolla, Calif. 13. Yale Bulldogs (22-7) | New Haven, Conn. 14. Lipscomb Bison (25-9) | Nashville, Tenn. 15. Bryant Bulldogs (23-11) | Smithfield, R.I. 16. Alabama State Hornets (19-15) | Montgomery, Ala. 16. Saint Francis Red Flash (16-17) | Loretto, Pa. And the distances those teams have traveled to their first games: Typically, a No. 1 seed gets a regional advance. And Auburn's NCAA Tournament path isn't too arduous — a trip to familiar Lexington, Ky., home of fellow SECer Kentucky, and a potential regional in Atlanta, less than two hours from Auburn's campus. But the Tigers' potential second-round opponent has it even easier. Louisville will travel 70 miles to Lexington, staying in the state for its first NCAA Tournament game since 2019. The Cardinals have lost eight in a row in Rupp Arena, though, last beating Kentucky there in 2008. Advertisement Meanwhile, Michigan, New Mexico, Yale and San Diego State all traveled more than 1,000 miles for their first games. 1. Duke Blue Devils | Durham, N.C. 2. Alabama Crimson Tide | Tuscaloosa, Ala. 3. Wisconsin Badgers | Madison, Wis. 4. Arizona Wildcats | Tucson, Ariz. 5. Oregon Ducks | Eugene, Ore. 6. BYU Cougars | Provo, Utah 7. Saint Mary's Gaels | Moraga, Calif. 8. Mississippi State Bulldogs | Starkville, Miss. 9. Baylor Bears | Waco, Texas 10. Vanderbilt Commodores | Nashville, Tenn. 11. VCU Rams | Richmond, Va. 12. Liberty Flames | Lynchburg, Va. 13. Akron Zips | Akron, Ohio 14. Montana Grizzlies | Missoula, Mont. 15. Robert Morris Colonials | Moon Township, Pa. 16. American Eagles | Washington, D.C. 16. Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers | Emmitsburg, Md. And the distances those teams have traveled to their first games: Duke has the shortest trip of any team in the tournament to its first-round game, going just 18 miles to the Lenovo Center in Raleigh to play either American or Mount St. Mary's. The Blue Devils will stay in the Eastern time zone if they reach the Sweet 16, as the East Regional will be in Newark, N.J. No. 15 seed Robert Morris also has a travel advantage against second-seeded Alabama. And there's a 2,028-mile difference in travel to Seattle between No. 5 Oregon and No. 12 Liberty. 1. Houston Cougars | Houston 2. Tennessee Volunteers | Knoxville, Tenn. 3. Kentucky Wildcats | Lexington, Ky. 4. Purdue Boilermakers | West Lafayette, Ind. 5. Clemson Tigers | Clemson, S.C. 6. Illinois Fighting Illini | Champaign, Ill. 7. UCLA Bruins | Los Angeles 8. Gonzaga Bulldogs | Spokane, Wash. 9. Georgia Bulldogs | Athens, Ga. 10. Utah State Aggies | Logan, Utah 11. Texas Longhorns | Austin, Texas 11. Xavier Musketeers | Cincinnati 12. McNeese Cowboys | Lake Charles, La. 13. High Point Panthers | High Point, N.C. 14. Troy Trojans | Troy, Ala. 15. Wofford Terriers | Spartanburg, S.C. 16. SIU Edwardsville Cougars | Edwardsville, Ill. And the distances those teams have traveled to their first games: No. 7 UCLA is used to travel. The Bruins spent their first Big Ten season traveling from Los Angeles to places like Piscataway, N.J., College Park, Md., and West Lafayette, Ind. So another nearly 2,000-mile trip to Lexington is fitting. None of the four teams heading to Providence in this quadrant have a simple trip for fans. Purdue, High Point, Clemson and McNeese are all at least 600 miles from Amica Mutual Pavilion. Advertisement 1. Florida Gators | Gainesville, Fla. 2. St. John's Red Storm | Jamaica, N.Y. 3. Texas Tech Red Raiders | Lubbock, Texas 4. Maryland Terrapins | College Park, Md. 5. Memphis Tigers | Memphis, Tenn. 6. Missouri Tigers | Columbia, Mo. 7. Kansas Jayhawks | Lawrence, Kan. 8. UConn Huskies | Storrs, Conn. 9. Oklahoma Sooners | Norman, Okla. 10. Arkansas Razorbacks | Fayetteville, Ark. 11. Drake Bulldogs | Des Moines, Iowa 12. Colorado State Rams | Fort Collins, Colo. 13. Grand Canyon Antelopes | Phoenix 14. UNC Wilmington Seahawks | Wilmington, N.C. 15. Omaha Mavericks | Omaha, Neb. 16. Norfolk State Spartans | Norfolk, Va. And the distances those teams have traveled to their first games: No. 2 St. John's opens its tournament with an easy jaunt — it's a short drive from New York to Providence. Not so much for No. 15 Omaha. Or Kansas and Arkansas, the Red Storm's prospective second-round opponents. At 2,324 miles, No. 4 Maryland has the longest first-round trip of any team in the tournament. (Top photos: Brandon Sumrall / Getty Images; Zachary Taft / Imagn Images)
USA Today
16-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
When is March Madness? 2025 NCAA Tournament dates, TV schedule, locations, odds
When is March Madness? 2025 NCAA Tournament dates, TV schedule, locations, odds Show Caption Hide Caption What teams in March Madness does Hunter Dickinson have his eyes on? Kansas Jayhawks' Hunter Dickinson has two teams that surprised him and believes they can make a run in March Madness tournament. Sports Seriously When does March Madness start? See the full 2025 NCAA Tournament schedule heading into Selection Sunday. The NCAA bracket will be unveiled during Sunday's selection show on CBS, including First Four games and first-round pairings and matchups. Though a ball won't be tipped for a few more days — and a few more automatic bids must be handed out — March Madness is finally here. A tournament that takes over the entire country will receive its full bracket in just a few hours from now with the Selection Sunday release show. In the hours that will follow the unveiling of the men's 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket, college basketball fans around the country — die-hard and first-time viewers alike — will begin analyzing the field and making their picks on who will cut down the nets in San Antonio. The SEC and Big Ten look well positioned to have a successful March this year, with a combined 22 of its teams appearing in projected NCAA Tournament brackets, including USA TODAY's. REQUIRED READING: March Madness bracket release date: Selection Sunday start time, how to watch, more Last year's tournament brought out unsung heroes, such as Oakland's Jack Gohlke and NC State's DJ Burns. It also created a storyline that had not been met in nearly two decades, when UConn became the first team since Florida in 2006-07 to repeat as national champions. So what will be the storylines for this year? Everything is on the line, and that's the beauty of this unpredictable tournament. Here's what you need to know for the 2025 NCAA Tournament from TV schedules, results, streaming options, game site information, national championship betting odds and much more: When is March Madness? Full 2025 NCAA Tournament schedule Start date: Tuesday, March 18 (First Four) Tuesday, March 18 (First Four) End date: Monday, April 7 (national championship) The 2025 men's NCAA Tournament gets going on Tuesday, March 18 in Dayton, Ohio at UD Arena with the First Four. First-round games begin two days later on Thursday, March 20. Here is the full schedule breakdown for the 2024 NCAA Tournament: First Four: Tuesday, March 18 through Wednesday, March 19 Tuesday, March 18 through Wednesday, March 19 First round: Thursday, March 20 through Friday, March 21 Thursday, March 20 through Friday, March 21 Second round: Saturday, March 22 through Sunday, March 23 Saturday, March 22 through Sunday, March 23 Sweet 16: Thursday, March 27 through Friday, March 28 Thursday, March 27 through Friday, March 28 Elite Eight: Saturday, March 29 through Sunday, March 30 Saturday, March 29 through Sunday, March 30 Final Four: Saturday, April 5 Saturday, April 5 National Championship: Monday, April 7 When is the First Four? The First Four will once again take place in Dayton, Ohio at UD Arena on the campus of the University of Dayton. The first set of First Four games will take place on Tuesday, March 18, while the second set of games will take place on Wednesday, March 19. Here's a breakdown of dates and tip off times for the First Four: Tuesday, March 18 TV channel: truTV truTV Live stream: March Madness Live App | Sling TV Wednesday, March 19 TV channel: truTV truTV Live stream: March Madness Live App | Sling TV When is the Final Four? The Final Four this year will take place at the historic Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday, April 5. It is the first time that the Final Four is returning to San Antonio since Villanova defeated Michigan in 2018. This year's Final Four is the last time it will take place in the south until 2030, when it heads to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Final Four will travel to the following cities over the next few years: Indianapolis (2026), Detroit (2027), Las Vegas (2028), Indianapolis (2029) and Arlington, Texas (2030). Here's a breakdown of dates and tip off times for the Final Four and the national championship game: Final Four Date: Saturday, April 5 Saturday, April 5 Time: Game 1: 6 p.m. ET | Game 2: 8:49 p.m. ET Game 1: 6 p.m. ET | Game 2: 8:49 p.m. ET TV channel: CBS CBS Live stream: March Madness Live App | Fubo (free trial) NCAA Tournament national championship Date: Monday, April 7 Monday, April 7 Time: 8:50 p.m. ET 8:50 p.m. ET TV channel: CBS CBS Live stream: March Madness Live App | Fubo (free trial) How to watch March Madness games in 2025? TV channel, streaming TV channels: CBS | TBS | TNT | truTV CBS | TBS | TNT | truTV Streaming options: NCAA March Madness Live app | Sling TV | Fubo (free trial) The 2025 NCAA Tournament will be carried across an assortment of different networks, including CBS (24 games), TBS (18 games), TNT (12 games) and truTV (21 games). For games on the Turner Broadcast Network — TBS, TNT and truTV — one streaming option includes Sling TV. Games on CBS can be streamed on Fubo, which carries CBS and offers a free trial to new subscribers. All March Madness games will be available to be streamed on the NCAA March Madness Live app (with a TV login) as well. Here are the regional weekend announcer crews: Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce Kevin Harlen, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Lauren Shehadi Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Evan Washburn Here are the other broadcast crews, in alphabetical order: Lisa Byington, Robbie Hummel, Jalen Rose, Andy Katz Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, Jon Rothstein Tom McCarthy, Debbie Antonelli, Steve Smith, AJ Ross Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, Dana Jacobson REQUIRED READING: Duke now No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll rankings after Auburn falls March Madness 2025 locations As is the case every March Madness, the NCAA Tournament will take place at 14 different arenas and stadiums around the country. The four regional sites (i.e. the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight) this year will be the Prudential Center (East Region) in Newark, New Jersey; State Farm Arena (South) in Atlanta; Lucas Oil Stadium (Midwest) in Indianapolis and Chase Center (West) in San Francisco. The Final Four and national championship are returning to San Antonio and the Alamodome for the fourth time this year. It's the first trip back to San Antonio for the Final Four since 2018. Here is a full breakdown of which sites and locations will host the NCAA Tournament this year: First Four: UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio) Rounds 1-2: Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.) Amica Mutual Pavilion (Providence, R.I.) Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle) Intrust Bank Arena (Wichita, Kan.) Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (Cleveland) Ball Arena (Denver) Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee) PNC Arena (Raleigh, N.C.) Sweet 16, Elite 8: East Regional: Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.) South Regional: State Farm Arena (Atlanta) Midwest Regional: Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) West Regional: Chase Center (San Francisco) Final Four, national championship: Alamodome (San Antonio) March Madness 2025 odds Per BetMGM, Cooper Flagg and Duke have the best odds entering the NCAA Tournament to win the national championship. Rounding out the top five for the best odds to win the national championship are Auburn (+350), Florida (+600), Houston (+800) and Alabama (+1200). If any of the trio of Auburn, Florida and Alabama —or any other SEC program — goes on and wins the national championship, it'd be the SEC's first men's basketball national championship since 2012. Here's a full list of the best odds for teams to win the national championship (as of Saturday, March 15), per BetMGM: Auburn (+340) (+340) Duke (+360) (+360) Florida (+450) (+450) Houston (+600) (+600) Alabama (+1100) (+1100) Tennessee (+1300) (+1300) Michigan State (+2200) (+2200) St. John's (+2200) (+2200) Iowa State (+2500) (+2500) Kentucky (+3500) NCAA Tournament winners, history With last year's national championship win over Purdue at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, UConn moved into a two-way tie with North Carolina for the third-most national championship titles in NCAA history. Here is a full list of how many teams have won the national championship since 1939, the first NCAA Tournament: 1. UCLA: 11 11 2. Kentucky: Eight Eight T-3. North Carolina: Six Six T-3. Connecticut: Six Six T-5. Duke: Five Five T-5. Indiana: Five Five 7. Kansas: Four Four 8. Villanova: Three Three T-9. Cincinnati: Two Two T-9. Florida: Two Two T-9. Louisville: Two * Two * T-9. Michigan State: Two Two T-9. N.C. State: Two Two T-9. Oklahoma State: Two Two T-9. San Francisco: Two Two T-16. Arizona: One One T-16. Arkansas: One One T-16. Baylor: One One T-16. California: One One T-16. City College of New York: One One T-16. Georgetown: One One T-16. Holy Cross: One One T-16. La Salle: One One T-16. Loyola Chicago: One One T-16. Marquette: One One T-16. Maryland: One One T-16. Michigan: One One T-16. Ohio State: One One T-16. Oregon: One One T-16. UNLV: One One T-16. Stanford: One One T-16. Syracuse: One One T-16. UTEP: One One T-16. Utah: One One T-16. Utah: One One T-16. Virginia: One One T-16. Wisconsin: One One T-16. Wyoming: One * This does not include Louisville's 2013 national championship as it was vacated by the NCAA following an investigation We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. 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