Being able to trademark “The Big Dance” and “March Mayhem” seems a little over the top. I’m sure a number of schools at all levels across the country have a Big Dance of some kind. And who calls it March Mayhem? That’s so ambiguous.
Same reason you don’t here any commercials talking about the “Super Bowl” always “The Big Game.”
I haven’t looked but I assume the NCAA only has The Big Dance for basketball use. Like if it was used for an actual dance, might not be trademarked.
Which is why the NFL tried to trademark “The Big Game,” which got some pushback (and it’s about time, the NFL is such a bully sometimes) because there were things like Stanford and Cal’s “The Big Game” and others. The same logic applies to “The Big Dance,” so I’m surprised they were able to trademark it.
Growing up in Illinois, we always had March Madness for the boys IHSA basketball tournament (before the NCAA started using it.) The NCAA struck a deal with the IHSA. They are the only entity that can still use March Madness and not run afoul with the NCAA.