Cinderella at the Big Dance

One of the biggest draws on the sports calendar, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament routinely thrills fans with “bracket buster” upsets. From Loyola Marymount’s emotional 1990 run following the death of team leader Hank Gathers to UMBC in 2018 becoming the first 16–seed to defeat a 1–seed, March Madness holds the sporting world captive for a few weeks each year and changes the lives of players. Drawing on dozens of original interviews, this book chronicles the tournament’s many underdog tournament runs, with insights into the teams beyond their exploits on the hardwood.

Ron Snyder is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience and is the author of four books. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ron Snyder
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 238
Bibliographic Info: 25 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8561-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4592-6
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
1. Loyola Marymount (1990) 7
2. University of Tennessee–Chattanooga (1997) 18
3. Valparaiso (1998) 33
4. Gonzaga (1999) 51
5. George Mason (2006) 69
6. Virginia Commonwealth University (2011) 86
7. Florida Gulf Coast University (2013) 114
8. Dayton (2014) 132
9. Loyola Chicago (2018) 145
10. University of Maryland, Baltimore County (2018) 161
11. After the Madness 179
12. A Launching Pad 200
13. Finding a Path After College 208
14. A Lifetime Connection 211
Chapter Notes 215
Bibliography 219
Index 223