5/11 – NCAA Pays Big Money for “March Madness”

The NCAA in October paid $17.2 million to sports and entertainment marketer Intersport to stop using the term ‘March Madness,’ which has been attached to the NCAA’s Division I men’s basketball tournament since the 1980s. The settlement, spelled out in financial statements but unbeknown to most in the member schools and conferences, gives it sole ownership of a trademark that has been the subject of several legal disputes and challenges over the years. While large on its face, the eight-figure amount accounts for less than 2½% of the association’s $700 million-plus budget, according to USA Today. Intersport took out the original trademark more than two decades ago, but reached an agreement with the IHSA in the early 1990s in which it accepted limited license to the phrase in exchange for a share of royalties.