I’m not going to lie. I’m not a huge fan of basketball – college or pro. I’ll only casually watch throughout the year – maybe watch a Penn State game or a Suns game. I will get more interested as the postseason nears – especially during College Basketball’s Championship Week and March Madness. It’s tough to beat when so many games are available, and upsets happen regularly. Regardless, when March Madness comes to town, you have to participate.
My first experience with in-person March Madness was in 2004 with my buddy Marshall. Scranton’s very own Gerry McNamara and Syracuse came to Phoenix for the West Regionals. They were joined by Alabama, Vanderbilt, and UConn and they played at America West Arena, now Footprint Center, in Downtown Phoenix.
In those games, #8 Alabama upset McNamara and the #5 Orange 80-71, and #2 UConn easily handled #8 Vandy 72-55. UConn followed that up with another blowout win, 87-71, over Bama and continued their dominance straight through to earning their second national title with a 9-point win over Georgia Tech.
While the regionals are exciting to attend, the Final Four takes sporting events to the next level. Think of it as the Super Bowl of collegiate athletics – but with three games spread out over three days!
This wasn’t the first time college sport’s highest-attended event came to Phoenix. The Final Four was here in 2017. It was the first time it had been played in the Western US in 23 years! Back then, it was a “bucket list” item for me. One of those events that, if you’re a sports fan, you have to experience at least once in your life. For me, it’s similar to the NBA and NHL finals. While I’m not a huge fan of those sports either, attending the finals is still a bucket list item.
That year, we got to see two Number 1 seeds battle in the final with North Carolina (33-7) taking home their sixth National Title by handing Gonzaga (37-2) only their second loss on the year.
Little did I know that I’d have the chance to attend again. The Phoenix Local Organizing Committee (PLOC), the group responsible for attracting and hosting major sporting events to the Valley of the Sun, has done a tremendous job of late. Not only have they attracted major sporting events like the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, and various All-Star games, but more importantly, they flawlessly executed each one and were awarded additional hosting opportunities for each event. They got their chance to showcase the Valley of Championships once again with this year’s Final Four.
The PLOC is a group of mostly temporary sports operations experts. They spin up quickly to stage some of the world’s largest events – only to disband shortly after each event.
2024 Men’s Final Four
The branding for this year incorporated many aspects of Arizona. The logo is an outline of the State of Arizona. The basketball represents the sun, and the colors represent the spectacular Arizona sunsets. Of course, there was a cactus to represent the Sonoran Desert, and the mountain represents the iconic Camelback Mountain, while the diamonds around the edge signify the colorful fabrics and Native American heritage of the southwest region.
With our daughter working for the PLOC this year, we jumped in and participated as much as possible by volunteering for multiple events. It’s quite a hectic week when you consider the PLOC doesn’t even know which teams will be in town until a week before the games begin!
Volunteer Orientation
We started our activities a couple of weeks before the madness would set in. We attended volunteer orientation at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe. Here, you pick up your uniform, learn about your role in the upcoming activities, and meet some of the people responsible for executing the events.
Of course, you get a chance to take your picture with the National Championship Trophy too!
Leading up to the week, Downtown Phoenix gets dressed up for the event. It helps to create a buzz and excitement for the week to come.
Monday, April 1, 2024
Volunteer Shift 1 – Moving Courtesy Cars
My first volunteer activity was an easy one – to help relocate the courtesy vehicles from the rental company to the appropriate hotels. I ended up making four trips to area hotels to safely deliver luxury SUVs to each team. Oh, and a minivan for the refs.
Center Court – VIP Stadium Preview
Later that same evening, we were invited to attend a special event at State Farm Stadium. The “Thank You” party was for sponsors and supporting organizations and provided an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the locker rooms and court before the games began.
State Farm Stadium is the home of the Arizona Cardinals. It holds normally holds about 65,000 fans, but can be expanded to accommodate up to 75,000 for football. For basketball, the NCAA installs temporary seats to improve the viewing experience due to the smaller playing surface. They replace the regular seats so they can add more seats at the approach pitch to fill in more than a normal football stadium setup.
We were restricted from taking any photos of the interior corridors or locker rooms. They like to keep those a secret so the players and coaches are surprised when they arrive. Each hallway is lined with murals and wood carvings that represent the teams and the tournament logo. Massive photo prints of each team’s Championship run hang from the walls inside the locker room. I’ll just say I’m pretty sure there would be a lot of “wows” as the players enter for the first time. Very well done! I found a video of NC State’s locker (after their arrival).
The tour led us through the media room, where the coaches and players would be grilled later in the week.
From there, we got access to the court. We were given a brief overview of how they built the temporary structure – making sure it was at the appropriate height to avoid any local laws that would require handrails around the perimeter. In this case, the floor was raised about 28 inches above the stadium floor.
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Fan Fest Preview
One of our volunteer shifts was to work at the NCAA Fan Fest, so, to be prepared to answer any questions we attended the soft opening on Thursday night to get familiar with the event and activities.
The Phoenix Convention Center was home to the event that incorporated interactive games from virtually every NCAA sport.
There were plenty of photo opportunities both inside and out.
One of my favorites was the 360-degree bracket that sat in the middle of the street. It includes each team and their placement in the bracket.
The super-sized Championship Trophy is cool, but let’s face it, the NCAA can really afford to up their game with this trophy.
Inside, you can see that the teams were already on display just days after they earned their way to Phoenix.
And another opportunity for a photo with the full bracket with an Arizona look and feel.
The multi-day event served as the host location for player and celebrity appearances throughout the week and even included photo opportunities with the cardboard cutout team mascots.
While they technically sold tickets to this event, if you looked hard enough, you’d be able to find free tickets. For example, if you have a Capital One card, all you had to do was show your card and you’d be escorted to a VIP entrance line.
Unlike the NFL Fan Fest, this event showcases more than one sport. Here, you can see fans have the opportunity to throw or receive footballs.
Sponsors like Home Depot have creative “activations” where you can test your shooting skills and win prizes.
And, of course, there’s merch. There were plenty of shopping opportunities with NCAA Final Four and team-branded merchandise in creative shops like the Chuck Stop – an ode to Charles Barkley.
Friday, April 5, 2024
Volunteer Shift 2 – Tip-Off Tailgate
The Final Four teams held an open practice at State Farm Stadium and were followed by the Reese’s NABC All-Star Game – a game that featured top seniors from around the country. Again, a free event for all!
During the activities, we had a volunteer shift at the Tip-Off Tailgate on the Great Lawn at State Farm Stadium. Our job today was to simply be a greeter to help guide fans around the tailgate and answer as many questions as possible – all while being a great ambassador for Phoenix as a host city.
I absolutely love the Great Lawn. There’s just something about tailgating on grass. For this week, the Lawn was set up like a carnival atmosphere. It was open to the public for free to attend on Friday and included with your game ticket on Saturday and Monday.
Once again, sponsors had free, interactive games to play and prizes to win. While there was food and drink to purchase, Wendy’s was handing out samples – including their new Orange Frosty.
To keep the crowd entertained, there were multiple bands throughout the event.
A Night for Arizona’s Champions
Later on Friday, with little time to spare, we were back home, changed, and headed out to the Partner Party at El Chorro Lodge in Paradise Valley. This exclusive event was for the PLOC’s partners, who played a major role in making the week successful. It was a celebration in anticipation of the influx of tourists and visitors that these organizations bring to the Valley. There’s little doubt that investments in major events like this turn into economic wins for the host cities and their businesses. Top executives from organizations from around the country will descend on Phoenix and, if impressed, will likely consider investing in the area – personally or professionally.
This event featured incredible food and drink with top-notch service in a festive atmosphere!
And the branding extended throughout the stations.
Once again, creative photo ops were everywhere. We attended the event with our friends Cory and Deana and the girls were sporting their brand new Rancher Hat Bar customized cowboy hats courtesy of the PLOC. Each guest got to choose between some pretty awesome swag.
To finish the night, Fitz and the Tantrums played a one-hour set that blew the top off of sleepy Paradise Valley! Their high-energy, horn-infused music was the perfect compliment to a great night that set the stage for the games the next day.
Saturday, April 6, 2024
Semi-Final Saturday!
Once again, with little rest, it was back up to State Farm Stadium for the Saturday slate of games – Purdue vs NC State and Alabama vs UConn. Oddsmakers had UConn (-200) as the heavy favorite to win the tournament followed by Purdue (+200). Bama and NC State were far behind at 16-1 and 18-1 respectively.
We had access to the VIP Tailgate on the Great Lawn. Of course, it was full of top-notch food and drink along with the ever-present branding.
The crowd was a bit larger than Friday – and the weather was absolutely spectacular!
Throughout the weekend, it was obvious that Purdue fans were, by far, the most well-represented bunch. Even their band showed up to entertain the tailgaters!
In my estimation, they were followed far behind by NC State, Alabama, and finally UConn. UConn fans commented that the Lady Huskies were also in the NCAA Women’s Finals so it divided the fan base.
I will say, that watching a basketball game in a football stadium is definitely sup-optimal, but this photo makes it look much worse than it really was, however, it gives you the perspective of the crowd – yet another Top 5 attendance record for the Final Four.
The Semis were fairly uneventful. UConn and Purdue won their games with relative ease – with a 14-point and 13-point victory respectively. That would set up a Monday showdown of UConn’s well-balanced team vs Purdue’s 7’4″ man-in-the-middle, Zach Edey.
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Volunteer Shift 3 – Fan Fest
Sunday was shaping up to be a long day. Due to conflicts, we had to change our schedule to pull a double shift. First up was directing guests around the entry to Fan Fest. Once again, the task was to answer as many questions as possible while projecting a positive attitude onto the guests.
While we were on our feet for five hours, the time flew by.
Volunteer Session 4 – March Madness Music Festival
We had a couple of hours between shifts so we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Arizona Wilderness before heading to our next shift.
March Madness Music Festival at Hance Park was running from Friday to Sunday night during the weekend. Each night contained a series of bands. Friday night was headlined by ZEDD and Saturday night had the Jonas Brothers.
Sunday was the biggest day of all. Starting at 3pm, Leon Bridges opened, followed by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats at 4:30. Then the Black Keyes took the stage at 6:30 followed by headliners, Mumford & Sons at 8:30.
The free outdoor concert was open to all and offered lawn seating as well as some VIP areas around the perimeter. Our shift tonight had us keeping an eye on the handicap section to ensure there were no issues with occupancy. We were located near the front of the venue, off to the side, on an elevated platform! An ideal location to watch the show.
Between acts, Charles Barkley, a Phoenix resident and legend took the stage and offered some colorful commentary. Let’s just say Chuck was feeling pretty good.
The place was jammed on a perfect night for free music!
Of course, Mumford & Sons played their hit remake, Wagon Wheel.
At the end of the show, a massive fireworks display lit up the night and continued for quite some time!
I feel sorry for those who were on cleanup duty!
Monday, April 8, 2024
Championship Game!
With our volunteer shifts complete, it was time to take in the Championship Game on Monday – another picture-perfect day! Once again, we enjoyed pregaming at the VIP tent on the Great Lawn.
Today, it was even more obvious that Purdue fans heavily outnumbered UConn. Was it that Purdue hadn’t participated in a Championship game since 1969? Or was it that the UConn faithful were torn between two Championship games? Or that UConn had won the title the year before?
I remember talking with an Alabama fan at the 2016 College Football Playoff Championship game. When I questioned him about being obviously outnumbered by Clemson fans, his response was, “Well son, those Clemson fans have been saving up their money for 35 years to come to one of these games.” I think this might be the case this year for UConn.
Inside, the Boilermakers were still the dominant fans, but UConn was a bit more represented than I had expected. Attendance was announced as 74.423 – making it the third-highest on record for a championship game.
Edey led the Boilermakers all year with his massive presence, and this game was no exception. The massive center chipped in for 37 of his team’s 60 points and grabbed 10 boards. But UConn had a different plan. They allowed Edey to the ball down low but held the nation’s second-best 3-point team to just 1 of 7 from 3-point range.
The Huskies took away the Boilermaker’s perimeter shooting with a smothering defense. and forced turnovers in key spots en route to their 75-60 win and their sixth National Championship! With the win, they became just the eighth program to win back-to-back titles.
Edey meanwhile, became only the third player in NCAA history to have at least 37 points and 10 rebounds in a championship game – joining only Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
That wrapped up an exhausting week of fun for us. The Phoenix Local Organizing Committee should be proud of their work on hosting yet another incredible sporting event here in Phoenix. Next up for them? The WNBA All-Star Game in July.
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