The Manager Games: College Basketball’s Underground March Madness Tournament

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2023

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As the old saying goes, “Not all heroes wear capes”... especially not the ones in college basketball. These unsung heroes, otherwise known as student managers, are the backbone of the entire program. They clean the locker rooms, do the laundry, get practice ready, and help coaches with whatever else they need. Their passion for the game is what drives them to perform these tasks on a daily basis, and although these jobs are anything but glamorous, they do come with competitive perks. In arenas around the country, student managers compete against one another in a tournament known as the Manager Games. These games take place the night before the real D1 matchups, and these teams have the opportunity to advance all the way to the Final Four where they battle for the championship, and a chance to be recognized across their campus. So today, Jake Trotter explains to guest host Justin Tinsley the origin of an underground tournament where team managers finally get a chance at their very own One Shining Moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Justin Tensley. You might know me from my work at ASCAPE, or as the author of
0:11.2	a Biggie Smalls biography, or from my mostly victorious appearances on around the horn.
0:19.0	So you're going to be hearing different voices hosting ESPN Daily for the near future.
0:23.8	And guess what? I'm one of them. I'll be pitching in for the rest of the week, helping
0:29.2	this pod do what it's always done. Tell the best sport stories in audio, day in, and day
0:35.2	out. Hope you enjoy.
0:44.9	As journalists, we love a story that makes us say, wait, what? This for me is one of them.
0:56.7	Jake Trotter, you're here today to talk about a highly competitive underground tournament
1:01.7	that features many of the unsung heroes of March Madness. It's an event called Manager Games.
1:08.0	So what exactly are the manager games?
1:11.8	Yeah, Justin, they're the games before the game.
1:15.3	It is the least glamorous job in College Basketball, student manager. But every so often, it has
1:21.1	its special competitive perks.
1:26.7	In arenas around the country, student managers battle against opposing student managers
1:31.3	the night before the real games. For some of them lacking talent, they make up in floor
1:37.5	burns.
1:39.1	These managers, these are the kids that clean the locker rooms, that get practice ready,
1:45.0	that do the laundry oftentimes for these teams during the regular season.
1:50.4	Base scheduled games against one another, usually the night before the real teams play.
1:56.2	This isn't just an exhibition, it's not just a scrimmage. There are standings, there
2:00.6	is an RPI.
2:01.7	Wow.
	...

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