| About Us |
As part of the bracket, we just wanted to introduce ourselves and let our members know who we are and why we put the bracket on. It's just another personal touch that we think separates our bracket from the big ones.
Firstly, my name is Nate Althoff. I was on the University of Utah men's basketball team from 1996-2001. I met Katie while playing at the U, and were married in the fall of 2001. We both have a love and passion for basketball, especially the college game. In the spring of 2002, I was learning more and more about website programming, and Katie (yes, Katie came up with the idea in the first place) thought it would be a fun idea to have an online bracket of our own and invite our friends. So that first year, we had about 35 people take part. All of the scoring was done manually by Katie, and the updates took about an hour for every 5-6 games. We had a great time, and knew we wanted to do it again the next year.
In the years since, I've improved my programming skills and applied it toward the bracket in my free time. We've also managed to have our group of members grow from the mid 30's up to almost 600 this year. It's been as much fun building the site and watching it grow, as it has been talking smack on the smackboard. I've also been able to improve the system in a way that we can score a game, update the standings and schedule, and have a frosted beverage in under 5 mintues. Needless to say, it's been a nice improvement!
This past year, we were fortunate enough to have a healthy baby boy named Alex. While he unofficially took part last year (he wasn't quite born yet), this year he let his daddy put in his bracket for him. We're glad to welcome one of the youngest members (he's right there with Parker Enger), and hope to have him as well as all of you back next year.
So, as we pass the mid-point of this year's bracket, we just wanted to introduce ourselves and say thanks for taking part. You're more than welcome to come back next year, and you'll automatically be invited back just for taking part this year. We'll keep working to make improvements and upgrades, so hopefully next year will be even better than this year.
In closing, we just want to wish all of you our best, and want you all to enjoy the remaining games in the tournament. It's been a great tournament so far with a lot of upsets (my bracket is pretty much done, along with many others), and the remaining games look to be just as strong.
Thanks for your generosity and good luck with the rest of your bracket. I know you'll need it!
Nate Althoff
If you'd like to chip in and donate a few bucks to the site, anything and everything would be greatly appreciated. We just want to make sure everyone knows it's completely optional. If you can, great. If not, don't worry about it. We'll still be back next year.
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