Information

The rules are the same as in previous years.  Points are awarded for correct picks in each round as follows:
 

Tiebreaker for first place is as follows:

1. Correct Champion
2. Most correct Final Four teams
3. Most correct Sweet Sixteen teams

Bookmark this page to keep track of tournament results and your score throughout the tournament.  Standings will usually be updated by the morning following the completion of each round; they may be updated more frequently depending on how much time I have.  Note that the #64 vs. #65 play-in game will not be part of the pool.  You may pick either the #1 seed in that region or the winner of the play-in game.  If you have questions, please email me at: waltmeier@earthlink.net.

The Rick Neuheisel Honorary Pool Entry

Until a few weeks ago, I was thinking that former FEMA Director Michael Brown was a lock for this honor.  I could imagine President Bush saying to him:  "Belmont to win it all?  You're doing a great job on these picks Brownie!"  But, alas he was trumped at the last minute by a superior, a person who actually submitted 64 entries, each with a different winner.  You might say that our honorary participant, Vice President Dick Cheney, is using the shotgun approach to try to win the pool.

Honorary Pool Entries
Dick Cheney, 2006
Martha Stewart, 2005
Rick Neuheisel, 2004
George W. Bush, 2003

Pool Statistics and Results

Now, which teams should you pick?  Well, thanks to my assiduous record keeping, I have statistics on all tournament games played since 1985, when the tournament went to 64 (well, now 65) teams, through the 2005 tournament.  These results are listed my Tournament Statistics Page.  Feel free to consult this page for any statistical guidance you may seek, or just for the heck of it. 

And you can also research team-by-team tourney stats for every team that has made the tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 - what seed they had and how far they went in each year!  Check it out within the Tournament Teams Page. 

Of course, it's not so much who actually wins the games, but who you pick to win the game.  Do you want to see how you've done in the past, maybe decide you need a new strategy?  Or just reminisce over great pools of yore?  Now you can!  All new this year, is the complete breakdown of everyone who has been in the pool since 1990 - all 770 entries from 196 participants over the past 16 years of the pool (records have been lost for the first year in 1989), found in the Tournament Participants History Page.

Also, complete year-by-year final standings since 1990 and complete final summaries since 2001 are provided:

Complete Final Standings:  1990-1994, 1995-1999, 2000-2004, 2005-2006
Complete Results Summary: 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001

Finally, you can check trends in pool participation and results with the Participation Summary 1990-2006 and the Points Summary 1990-2005.