March Madness song: What is the NCAA tournament song?

March Madness has many traditions.

One of them is the famous song “One Shining Moment.”

The song is just one of the things the NCAA Tournament is known for.

Of course, there is Selection Sunday, when the brackets are announced. Teams find out where they are playing and where their March dreams begin.

People across the nation immediately start filling out their brackets and making predictions. They organize their bracket pools and get ready to root their teams on.

The Final Four has many of its own traditions with the surrounding festivities making it a whole weekend event. There is also the tradition of cutting down the nets when a team wins its region, or the ultimate prize, the national championship.

Cinderella stories, buzzer beaters and blue bloods chasing glory are what make March.

The tournament ends with the title game and then comes “One Shining Moment.” The famous song is tied to March Madness.

“One Shining Moment” is a ballad performed and written by David Barrett. The song was written in 1986.

The song is played as the music bed for a montage after the conclusion of the national championship. The montage features clips from some of the most exciting moments in that year’s NCAA Tournament.

It was first played after the 1987 NCAA Tournament to conclude television coverage of the event on CBS.

It has been played after every national championship since 1987, except, of course, in 2020 when the tournament was canceled due to the covid pandemic.

The original version by Barrett was used from 1987 until 1993, and from 2000 until 2002. A version by Teddy Pendergrass was used from 1994 until 1999.

The current version by Luther Vandross has been used since 2003. It is believed to be the final song Vandross recorded before suffering a stroke and dying.

In 2010, a version by Jennifer Hudson was used instead of Vandross’ edition. A version by Ne-Yo was used in pregame coverage in 2016.

The song is inspirational in nature and contains motivational lyrics.

The first line is famously “the ball is tipped.”