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The annual rite of spring and national obsession known as March Madness is about to begin. Did you know that one of the founding fathers of what is otherwise known as the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament is a Wisconsin native and UW–Madison alumnus?
Rice Lake’s own Harold Olsen started playing basketball at the University of Wisconsin in 1914. He went on to become head coach of Ohio State University and eventually earned the distinction of being the longest-tenured basketball coach in that school’s history. Olsen’s national legacy, however, began as chair of the NCAA Basketball Committee. In 1937, Olsen came up with the idea to create the NCAA postseason national playoffs, now known as the NCAA tournament.. The first tournament in 1939 hosted a field of eight teams on the campus of Northwestern University. Olsen was only 58 when he passed away in 1953. He was inducted posthumously into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. As you fill in your brackets and start watching the madness, tip your hat to Harold Olsen, the University of Wisconsin alumnus who helped to turn the doldrums of March into something truly special.
