March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide XIV
Sports’ most hectic time of year is coming, and you can’t stop it. And, if your partner is excited for college basketball’s March Madness tournaments, this is specifically for you.
For years, we’ve been here trying to help with ideas and tips to keep you busy and entertained while your significant other sits on the couch and watches college athletes play win-or-go-home games for two weeks in the early spring.
It started in 2010, and now here we are in 2025 with the 14th edition of the March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide.
From Selection Sunday to the National Title Games, March 16 to April 7 is a glorious time for everyone who loves it. But if that’s not you – we have 5 ideas to keep you busy, enjoying the music in your life, and not obsessed with your bracket.
We’ve got the schedule breakdown so you know when to make your plans, and we’ve got those ideas to help your planning.
Here we go.
2025 Men’s March Madness Schedule
⛹🏼♂️ Selection Sunday – Sunday, March 16, 2025
⛹🏼♂️ First Four – Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 19, 2025
⛹🏼♂️ NCAA Tournament Round 1 – Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21, 2025
⛹🏼♂️ NCAA Tournament Round 2 – Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23, 2025
⛹🏼♂️ Sweet 16 – Thursday, March 27 and Friday, March 28, 2025
⛹🏼♂️ Elite 8 – Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30, 2025
⛹🏼♂️ Final Four – Saturday, April 5, 2025
⛹🏼♂️ 2025 NCAA Championship Game – Monday, April 7, 2025
2025 Women’s March Madness Schedule
⛹🏽♀️ Selection Sunday – Sunday, March 16, 2025
⛹🏽♀️ First Four – Wednesday, March 19 and Thursday, March 20, 2025
⛹🏽♀️ NCAA Tournament Round 1 – Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22, 2025
⛹🏽♀️ NCAA Tournament Round 2 – Sunday, March 23 and Monday, March 24, 2025
⛹🏽♀️ Sweet 16 – Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29, 2025
⛹🏽♀️ Elite 8 – Sunday, March 30 and Monday, March 31, 2025
⛹🏽♀️ Final Four – Friday, April 4, 2025
⛹🏽♀️ 2025 NCAA Championship Game – Sunday, April 6, 2025
Enjoy the Madness!
1) Thrift Shop Music Search
Your local thrift shop can be a treasure trove of music-related stuff every time you visit. Vinyl, CDs, t-shirts, biographies – the racks and shelves of Salvation Army, Value Village, etc. are holding all of it and waiting for you.
Check your email to see if you have any coupons and make the trip (don’t forget your reusable shopping bag).
Happy hunting!
2) Host A Music & Dinner Party
Start planning a date for friends to come over for a dinner party accompanied by the perfect playlist.
Appetizers, beverages, main courses, dessert, vinyl, playlists, sing-alongs. It’s all on the table (pun intended).
If you’re looking for inspiration, books like Booze & Vinyl and Eat Like a Rock Star: More Than 100 Recipes from Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Greatest offer all kinds of lovely choices to get you started.
You’ll end up with an evening of tasty food, awesome music, and wonderful conversation with people you love being with.
Bon Appétit!
3) Watch Music Biopics
There are some wonderful films out there about musicians and music and history and all of the tragedy and triumph included.
If you’re looking for a list to start from… we’ve got you.
🍿 What’s Love Got To Do With It (1993)
🍿 Ray (2004)
🍿 The Runaways (2010)
🍿 Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021)
🍿 Respect (2021)
🍿 A Complete Unknown (2025)
Make some popcorn. Get comfy in front of your favourite screen. And enjoy the show!
4) Deal With Your Old CDs
If you’re anything like me, you have CDs in the house, a box of them in the garage, and you don’t listen to any of them very much at all.
Step one in the process is pulling them out and looking at them. Give them a sort. You’re going to end up with three categories.
Do you have a CD player to listen to them on? If yes, make a pile of discs that you can tell yourself you want to play.
The next pile are all nostalgia picks – the CDs that instantly bring back memories and smiles. If you’ve got space and hate to let things go, this is a keep category.
After that, you’re left with CDs that you won’t listen to, don’t really love, and are just taking up space and collecting dust. Those are the ones you are getting rid of my friend. Pack them into a bag or a box, and take them with you to the thrift store as a donation when you make your shopping trip.
5) Play Along
Why? It’s fun! Even if you know nothing about college basketball (like most of us), making your picks and filling out your brackets is a good time. It’s even more fun when you get some picks right and start watching your teams advance.
And, let’s be honest, this whole thing is fluky, so there’s a good chance that in any given year, your picks are going to be better than your partner’s picks – and that’s even more fun.
Don’t brag too much though, we don’t want any hurt feelings in the house!
And if you need more ideas, have a look back at the first 13 editions of the March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide!
🏀 2010 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide
🏀 2011 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 2.0
🏀 2012 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 3.0
🏀 2013 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 4.0
🏀 2014 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 5.0
🏀 2015 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 6.0
🏀 2016 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 7.0
🏀 2017 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 8.0
🏀 2018 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 9.0
🏀 2019 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 10!
🏀 2021 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide 11!
🏀 2022 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide v12!
🏀 2023 The March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide XIII!
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