How March Became Madness: How the NCAA Tournament Became the Greatest Sporting Event in America - Hardcover

Einhorn built his TV network team by team, conference by conference, and station by station until eventually he found himself beating the major networks, stealing their audiences, and proving to skeptics that the game was about to explode on the national consciousness. Einhorn achieved his greatest success with the first primetime telecast of a college basketball game, the historic contest between Houston and UCLA in the Astrodome in 1968.

How March Became Madness is the fascinating account of how that telecast and its aftermath laid the foundation for what became one of the greatest sporting events in America. It’s an account told through the voices of a veritable Who’s Who of great coaches, players, and announcers, including John Wooden, Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, Guy Lewis, Joe B. Hall, Denny Crum, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Billy Packer, and Dick Vitale.

Through their and other voices, Einhorn tells the fascinating and often hilarious story of how March Madness became the incredible phenomenon we know today.

Ron Rapoport is a sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and sports commentator for National Public Radio’s "Weekend Edition with Scott Simon." His latest book is The Immortal Bobby: Bobby Jones and the Golden Age of Golf.