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Were you one of the 28% of people who filled out a March Madness bracket this year?
To study who’s participating in March Madness betting, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago surveyed 1,112 U.S. adults from February 6-10, 2025.
For all the hype and fanfare that March Madness gets, it might be surprising that so few people actually fill out a bracket each spring: Just 9% of adults fill out a men’s basketball bracket every year, and an even fewer 4% fill out yearly women’s basketball brackets.
Here’s a bracket breakdown, by the numbers:
- Younger adults are more likely than older adults to participate: 30% of adults under 45 fill out a men’s bracket at least some years, compared to just 23% of adults over 45 who do.
- More men than women fill out both men’s and women’s basketball brackets: 35% of men take part in men’s basketball pools at least some years, compared to only 19% of women, and 19% of men fill out women’s brackets at least some years, compared to 13% of women.
And why do people fill out March Madness brackets? For the glory – and for the money. A third (33%) of adults said “the glory of winning” was a major reason they filled out a bracket, and an additional 40% cited it as a minor reason. Other motivators included “the chance to win money” (27% said it was a major reason), because “other people were doing it” (23%), and “to support a specific school or team” (16%).
May the best bracket win.
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