NCAA Tournament: Basketball Will Never Top Football as Top Sport in Florida

The NCAA Tournament saw four teams from the Sunshine State make this year’s field – but even that won’t put the sport over football in this state.

For 39 seasons before, there was less than half the time where fans and alumni of more than one school from the state of Florida got a chance to see their team take part in the NCAA Tournament. Dating back to the first ever appearance by a Sunshine State school (Miami in 1960), it has usually been just one team advancing to the dance.

Yes, there have been some memorable moments among the 61 appearances from the 10 combined schools that have made March Madness. FSU has advanced to the Sweet 16 and beyond in four of their dances – including their magical 1972 run to the national title game. There have been championships, upsets and shining moments when it comes to the Sunshine State.

Florida State Seminoles Basketball

Even with all that, you will find more discussion about spring football in Florida and the 2017 season than you will about the fact that four teams from the state made the NCAA Tournament field for the first time ever (with the previous record being three teams on five occasions).

During this weekend’s games played in Orlando – games that featured three of those schools in FSU, Florida and FGCU – fans rooted for their teams while conversations could be overheard talking about everything from whether Cam Akers would be the starting running back to whether Florida has a shot at the start of the season against Michigan (and if FSU can upset Alabama in the opener).

This was a season that, over the final weeks, saw the state’s big three programs ranked in both major polls and each one notching over 20 wins. It was a year where the Seminoles produced a magical run against ranked teams in the month of January – while both of their rivals notched big wins over teams who are in a position to play for the national title.

But for some, its all about the 167 days until the start of the college football season. It’s not fair to coaches like Leonard Hamilton and players like Jonathan Isaac and Dwayne Bacon, but that’s the reality of sports in the state of Florida. The Sunshine State is pigskin first – it was even when those Crocs got lucky and won two titles, and will be again no matter what takes place in this year’s tournament.