What is Midnight Madness?

Definition: "Midnight Madness" refers to a massive pep rally that many schools hold on the first day of basketball practice in mid-October.

Several big programs began staging a big public practice -- usually punctuated with a slam dunk contest, a scrimmage and lots of cheerleaders and dancers and loud music -- at the earliest possible time permitted by the NCAA -- 12am on the Saturday closest to October 15th -- and "Midnight Madness" was born.

Many schools use Midnight Madness as a significant recruiting tool and invite key recruits to attend.

When is Midnight Madness?

The title is no longer particularly accurate. In 2005, the NCAA voted to allow "Midnight Madness" events to start at 7pm local time on the Friday closest to October 15th -- citing safety concerns and the fact that older fans weren't too jazzed about staying out until 2am.

For the 2007-08 season, that's October 17th.

But as so often happens with any NCAA regulation, one coach has found a loophole. The University of Kentucky, citing an NCAA regulation that allows for two hours' of on-court instruction per week prior to the official start of practice, received permission to stage "Big Blue Madness" on October 10.

Expect more schools to follow suit in the years ahead. Before long, they'll be staging Midnight Madness events as "March Madness" events are still going on.

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