As a skillful raconteur, Brent Musburger spins stories with the best of them. At this time of year, he’s often asked about the origins of “March Madness.” While he did not invent the phrase, Musburger did popularize it long ago.
Musburger began his career as a Chicago sportswriter and TV anchor in the 1960s and knew the Illinois state high school basketball championships in Champaign had been advertised as “March Madness.” When CBS Sports took the NCAA Tournament away from NBC in 1982, Musburger was the CBS studio host.
In the early years of VSiN, Musburger recounted how it all happened: “I looked at the board and I was moving some underdogs around, because I actually had the names on a nameplate, and I said, ‘Folks, it’s madness. It’s March Madness.’ The term stuck and it will always be there.”
The sports wagering world revolves around the NFL season, but the weeks after the Super Bowl become all about college basketball. While some handicappers are just now jumping into hoops, others have been immersed in college basketball betting since early November — and several of those diehards have been invited by VSiN to compete in the Circa College Hoops Challenge, which is returning for a fourth year.
The 15-handicapper event tips off on the last Saturday of February, continues through the madness of March and concludes with the NCAA championship game on April 6. The contest consists of eight rounds, with each handicapper making a total of 45 plays against the spread.
Texas-based handicapper Paul Stone won last year’s contest with a 30-19-1 ATS record that included an 8-1-1 Best Bet record. Stone and the other two former champions are in this year’s field. David Dineen, a former Cal Poly basketball player who lives in Reno, was the 2024 champ. VSiN host Will Hill won the inaugural contest in 2023. The field also includes San Diego pro bettor Chris Macero, who earned the green jacket and $15,000 check for winning the 2025 Circa Friday Football Invitational.
Circa Resort & Casino owner Derek Stevens is awarding a Stadium Swim cabana with a $1,000 credit or a Barry’s Downtown Prime dinner comp worth $1,000 to the contest winner, who also receives a trophy. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers.
The contest will be broadcast from the VSiN studio at the Circa sportsbook. The contestants’ plays will be announced on the VSiN PrimeTime weeknight show, VSiN Saturday morning show, via VSiN Pro subscriber emails and VSiN.com.
The 15-handicapper field:
Paul Stone @paulstonesports
Professional handicapper from Texas; 2025 CCHC Champion.
David Dineen @david_dineen775
Former Cal Poly basketball player; 2024 CCHC Champion.
Will Hill @NotTheeWillHill
VSiN host; 2023 CCHC Champion.
Chris Macero @RealGadge
Pro bettor from San Diego; 2025 Circa Friday Football Invitational Champion.
Joe Ceraulo @TheJoeCeraulo
VSiN host.
Chip Chirimbes @chipperwins
Professional handicapper from Las Vegas.
Doug Kezirian @DougKezirian
Professional handicapper from Las Vegas.
Ryan Kramer @KramerCentric
VSiN host; Sports Gambling Podcast Network.
Aaron Moore @pubrelationprof
VSiN analyst; Sports media professor.
Tim Murray @1TimMurray
VSiN host.
Greg “Hoops” Peterson @GUnit_81
VSiN analyst.
Dustin Swedelson @dustinswedelson
VSiN host.
Ken Thomson @kenthomson87
Las Vegas radio host and handicapper.
Jonathan Von Tobel @meJVT
VSiN host.
Matt Youmans @mattyoumans247
VSiN host.
CIRCA COLLEGE HOOPS CHALLENGE 2026 OFFICIAL RULES
Fifteen handicappers compete in a college basketball contest with prizes awarded by Circa Resort & Casino. Contestants are invited by VSiN with no entry fee required.
When: Saturday, February 28 through Monday, April 6 (8 rounds, 45 plays)
Where: VSiN studio at the Circa sportsbook. The contestants’ plays will be announced on the VSiN PrimeTime show, VSiN Saturday morning show, via VSiN Pro emails and VSiN.com.
Contest format and plays: College basketball full-game sides and totals. Only Circa Sports lines will be used for the entire contest.
* Two regular-season contest weeks (February 28 and March 7) with five plays per contestant per week for the Saturday schedule (10 plays total).
* NCAA Tournament Round 1 (Wednesday, March 18 show) with 15 plays per contestant for the Thursday and Friday first-round games.
* NCAA Tournament Round 2 (Saturday morning, March 21 show) with eight plays per contestant for the Saturday and Sunday second-round games.
* NCAA Round 3 (Wednesday, March 25 show) with five plays per contestant for the Thursday and Friday Sweet 16 games.
* NCAA Round 4 (Saturday morning, March 28 show) with four plays per contestant for the Saturday and Sunday Elite Eight games.
* NCAA Round 5 (Friday, April 3 show) with two plays per contestant for the Saturday Final Four games.
* NCAA Final Round with one play per contestant for the NCAA championship game April 6.
Each contestant will make a total of 45 plays from NCAA regular-season and NCAA Tournament games only. A winning play is worth one point and a push is worth a half-point.
Best Bets: In each round, the contestants designate one play as a Best Bet, which is worth 1.5 points if it wins. Any contestant failing to designate a Best Bet will get a zero for the BB record in that round.
Note: If any game is canceled or postponed, it’s graded to be worth a half-point; a postponed game must be played within two days of the originally scheduled date or is graded to be worth a half-point.
Tiebreakers: Pick the Final Four teams (one point per correct team) and national champion (three points for correct team) and submit the tiebreaker picks for the Wednesday, March 18 show. If two or more contestants remain tied after the NCAA championship game, the Best Bet point total will serve as the next tiebreaker; if a tie still exists, the contestant with the most winning plays in the contest prevails.
Lines and pick deadlines: Use the Circa Sports lines posted on VSIN.com. All contestants are using the same lines.
For the first two regular-season rounds of the contest, plays must be submitted by 8 a.m. PT on Saturday. Pick deadlines for the NCAA Tournament rounds will be determined at a later date.
Prize structure: Circa owner Derek Stevens is awarding a Stadium Swim cabana with a $1,000 credit or a Barry’s Downtown Prime dinner comp worth $1,000 to the contest winner, who also receives a trophy. The runner-up contestant receives a $200 gift card to Dom Demarco’s Pizzeria in Las Vegas. The third-place finisher receives a $100 gift card to 8 East restaurant at Circa.
