Friends, colleagues, and now, competitors: I write to you in advance of a truly magical time of year. What could possibly be magical about March in the Northeast, you ask? No, it is not the weather, oscillating between freezing rain, suspiciously warm days, and endless skies of gray. Nor is it the quality of our scholarship, as G2s finally give up on their reading lists and turn to book reviews, and DCF candidates are forced to hunt down footnotes that have long read "find this later." No, it is basketball. An event for which many clamor--I see your emails asking when the brackets will go live. But I also hear the sighs of disappointment from those among you who have not yet waded into the waters of college sports viewership. You say to yourself, "This is a history department--a place of learning, of intellectual achievement." To that I say, it's time to turn your brains off. Participation in a March Madness bracket requires 0 (zero) thought, expertise, or experience. To quote Cam Elliott, "Knowledge about the sport not required (and, in most cases, only a hindrance)." Last year's men's bracket winner, Victoria Gonzalez, made her selections based on which team was located farther west in each matchup. Lauren Bohm chose which mascot she felt would win in a fight. There is no rhyme or reason to success in this endeavor. So, let's get down to brass tacks: - March Madness is the NCAA Division I championship tournament for men's and women's college basketball. - It is single elimination through-and-through - The tournament begins with 64 teams (not counting the First Four) and quickly narrows to the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and Final Four. - Approx. 40 million Americans fill out brackets each year. You choose who you think will win in each match-up of the tournament. *Note: no one has ever created a perfect bracket.* - Each of the 64 teams is given a ranking (a "seed") which denotes how "good" the team is. Ie. a 16 seed should probably definitely lose to a 1 seed. But the seeds are far from perfect predictors--there are upsets left and right. Hence the madness. *Now, some directions:* 1. follow this link <https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=c0ecd720-d3cd-3085-9e0a-53f03105a95f&joinKey=af7a158c-b1b0-37f5-9938-060f23177adf>to ESPN's tournament challenge site for the men's bracket and this link <https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=241&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=4c895a5b-3284-3df1-b080-c28462b4aa79&joinKey=af7a158c-b1b0-37f5-9938-060f23177adf>for the women's bracket (you are encouraged to make brackets for both!) 2. click "create a bracket now" 3. create a free ESPN account (if you don't already have one) 4. make your picks! this is easier to do on a big screen 5. *join our group "History x Harvard x Hoops" - password: robinson* 6. watch the ~madness~ play out starting tomorrow (first four) or Thursday (main pool)! **brackets can only be submitted before the round of 64 begins on Thursday** Bonus: the department is providing a Coop gift card and new history tote bag to the winners of our brackets! Here are some resources for those of us who have not experienced March Madness before: What is March Madness? <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_men%27s_basketball_tournament> Information on each of the women's teams <https://www.espn.in/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39737796/womens-ncaa-tournament-2024-bracket-march-madness-68-teams> Information on each of the men's teams <https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/page/FirstLookField-39723129/march-madness-2024-every-team-mens-ncaa-tournament-bracket-explained> Sending luck and thoughts of hours in front of the TV, Annie -- Annie Boniface PhD Candidate, History Harvard University