The phrase "March Madness" was originally coined in relation to basketball by Henry V. Porter, an official with the Illinois High School Association, who used the term in an essay published in 1939 to describe the intense, frenetic excitement of high school state basketball tournaments. The term was later popularized in the context of the NCAA college basketball postseason by broadcaster Brent Musburger during coverage of the 1982 tournament, cementing its permanent place in sports lexicon.