March 17, 2025
The annual NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, called March Madness, bring the best Division I collegiate teams into elimination tournaments to crown the national title each spring. Twenty-eight percent of adults get into the fun at least some years by filling out a men’s or women’s tournament bracket through formal or informal betting pools.
People who participate in March Madness brackets have a variety of motivations. The glory of winning and cash are the most popular motivators, followed by peer pressure and school spirit. Most people consider entering a March Madness bracket pool for money to be gambling, although 2 in 10 say it depends on how much money is on the line.
While most say betting on professional athletics should be legal in their state, there is less support for legalized gambling on college sports.
About a quarter of adults fill out a bracket for the men’s tournament every year or some years and 16% do so for the women’s tournament.
A larger share of younger adults are avid participants in March Madness pools with 30% of those under 45 filling out a men’s bracket at least some years compared with 23% of older adults. Men are more inclined than women to fill out March Madness brackets. Thirty-five percent of men participate in men’s basketball pools at least some years, compared with 19% of women.
The term “March Madness” became associated with the NCAA men’s tournament in 1982. But it wasn’t until 2022 that the NCAA Division I women’s basketball championship used the trademarked “March Madness” brand and marketing. Although the women’s final game in 2024 drew a larger share of the television audience than the men’s final, fewer people fill out a women’s brackets. Twenty-one percent of young adults fill out the women’ s bracket at least some years, compared with 12% of those age 45 and older. Nineteen percent of men and 13% of women complete the brackets for the women’s championship.
About 3 in 10 of those who fill out a men’s or a women’s bracket at least some years cite bragging rights or the chance to win money as a major reason for participation. About 2 in 10 do so to go along with others or do show their school spirit.
Fifty-six percent of all adults think entering a March Madness bracket for money is gambling, 21% say it is not, and 22% think it depends on the amount of money involved.
While most say betting on professional athletics should be legal in their state, most do not feel the same about college sports.
Overall, 37% frequently or occasionally bet on sports. Sixty-three percent have never bet on professional or college sports. Informal betting with friends or coworkers and in-person betting at casinos are the most popular methods followed by betting online or via apps (26% vs 23% vs 14%).
The nationwide poll was conducted February 6-10, 2025 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,112 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 4.1 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “Bragging rights and the chance to win money motivate March Madness brackets ” (February 2025). https://apnorc.org/projects/bragging-rights-and-the-chance-to-win-money-motivate-march-madness-brackets/
