For college basketball fans, the month of March means pretty much one thing and one thing only: March Madness. From the Cinderella story everyone is rooting for to the bracket-busting that happens starting day one of the tournament, it seems like there is never a boring day in March. For many fans, the excitement comes from filling out brackets, watching highlight plays, and hoping their underdog pick survives the first weekend. Even people who don’t normally follow college basketball suddenly find themselves invested in the tournament. But while fans are focused on their brackets and the on-court drama, as an NCAA cheerleader, I get to experience aspects of March Madness that not everyone is lucky enough to see.
As a member of the Northwestern Cheerleading team, I’ve cheered for the Wildcats Men’s Basketball team in two NCAA tournaments, 2023 and 2024, and feel like I have truly seen it all. From packed schedules to last-minute plans, the tournament experience looks very different from the sidelines than it does in the stands or at home. Between traveling, practicing, and upholding academic responsibilities, it is truly madness in more ways than one. Now, I’m going to let you in on the fun (and chaos). Here are some March Madness behind-the-scenes secrets even the most dedicated college basketball fan may not know.
Everything happens very quickly
One thing I was not prepared for my freshman year was how quickly the process of Selection Sunday to game one actually moves. Leading up to Sunday, there are obviously whispers and predictions about where every team is going to end up, but you cannot know anything for sure until the committee tells you exactly where you’re going.
And then, everything happens at once. For example, on a Sunday, we were told we were going to Sacramento, and were on a flight by that Tuesday morning. Packing lists were thrown at us Monday morning, and we played a lot of the trip by ear. So, if you consider yourself a go-with-the-flow type of person, you would definitely thrive in March Madness — but if you’re a meticulous planner, you might need to take some deep breaths.
Athletes aren’t off the hook from exams
At Northwestern, our academic calendar functions on the quarter system. What that means is that around the middle of March each year, it’s finals week. So, if you’re a basketball player, on the cheer team, member of the band, or any other student traveling for March Madness, how do you sit for your finals?
Every school and professor has different policies. But generally speaking, you’re sitting for that final at the same time as everyone else … you’ll just be taking it in a hotel. I have sat for quizzes and final exams in many hotel ballrooms, and have seen my friends do it too. Paper deadlines usually don’t move, either. If you’re wondering what this looks like in practice, people are studying and writing papers on planes, in between games, and squeezing in any work time they can get.
There’s no betting on brackets allowed
As an NCAA athlete, I am not allowed to bet on sports of any kind. That includes making bets on March Madness. So, the bets people make on individual games and on entire brackets are a no-go for cheerleaders and pretty much anyone involved in university athletics.
Luckily, I can still make a bracket — it’s just that, instead of money, I make a bracket for bragging rights. Even without the betting aspect, making a bracket of your own can still be tons of fun (even if your bracket ends up busted by the second day like mine always does).
The hotel and living situation is never the same year-to-year
Because the locations you can be in change every year, the set-up of the living situation is always completely different. In 2023, when our team played in Sacramento, CA, we stayed in a massive hotel that was big enough to fit the entire basketball team, cheer team, band, and staff — not to mention a ton of alumni stayed in the hotel and hung out there every day. In 2024, though, when we played in New York City, we stayed in a much smaller hotel that only held the cheer team and band.
Because the living situation changes year-to-year, so does the scheduling and overall experience. One of the first things you do on game day is send the team out of the hotel, where we cheer them on as they leave and get on the bus to the stadium. This looks different depending on whether you’re staying in the same hotel as them or not. Regardless, the hotel and accommodations have always been one of the great parts of getting to travel in March. From the free flight and hotel to the chances to eat some really great food in different cities, the NCAA makes sure you’re taken care of when you travel for the tournament.
Spring break is an afterthought
When you see your team’s season is shaping up in the right direction, your spring break getaway plans tend to take a backseat. Since the tournament overlaps with spring break pretty consistently, I usually bet on my team making it through spring break and don’t bother booking any big trips. After all, flights and hotels are usually nonrefundable.
Sometimes, this works out in your favor… and sometimes you’re left out during spring break. In 2024, the week in New York City lined up perfectly with spring break, which gave us all a free trip. In 2023, however, we were eliminated from the tournament just days before spring break, so most of us just went home.
Once you’ve done it once, you get FOMO every other year
Cheering in the tournament my freshman and sophomore year was one of the coolest memories of my college experience. Last year, when I was a junior, our team didn’t make it into the playoffs, so I instead spent my break watching the tournament on TV. I would have never anticipated having FOMO over March Madness, but I was constantly thinking about how much I missed going.
I still look back on the years I cheered at the NCAA tournament fondly. The games are always fun to watch and the stakes are higher than ever. Not to mention, you get to travel with your teammates and best friends. Cheering at March Madness has given me the opportunities to do so many cool things. We were on The Today Show one year and have been able to travel to amazing places. March Madness may only last a few weeks each year, but the memories from it will truly last a lifetime.