(Editor’s Note: As we close in on the fourth anniversary of the launch of Conversations with Sports Fans [June 9th] we’re counting down the top four most-listened-to episodes in the show’s history. This is the second most-listened-to episode.)

During the early days of hosting Conversations with Sports Fans I did most of the inviting for guests to join me. It was a rare occasion when a potential guest would reach out to me inquiring about appearing.

Such was the case in the late winter of 2024 when I received an email from an address that began “thebasketballmavens.” I’m not saying my Spam Filter flagged it, but I was certainly a little suspicious when I clicked the <Read> button.

Within, I found a lovely email from a fella named James Wikman aka “Wik” who was the spokesperson for a trio of friends who collectively were known as “The Basketball Mavens.” The Mavens, it turns out, have been attending NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games together for close to 40 years. And by attending I mean attending!

The norm for Wikman, John Ries (aka “J.R.”) and Tom Bowen (aka “Opie”) was to attend all first weekend games in two host sites. That meant they’d scope out the Round of 64 sites that were close enough to easily travel between on Thursday and Friday and they’d do just that, ping-ponging back and fourth to watch a total of 12 games from Thursday-Sunday. They’d then head to a Regional site to see all three games there for the Rounds of 16 and 8 before attending the Final Four annually for three more games.

That’s 18 games each spring if you lost count.

Wash, rinse, and repeat every year! Around the time we initially spoke they’d recently topped 500 total tournament games witnessed. They’re now into the 600s and even wrote a book about their experiences.

Haven’t listened to The Basketball Mavens’ episode yet? Check it out below.

Similar episodes to The Basketball Mavens:

• Season 2, Episode 14 Craig Caswell – Like The Mavens, Caswell is a college basketball junkie. His fix, it turns out, was to try and see every NCAA Division I Men’s program play in person. It took him 12 years, but he accomplished just that in February 2023 when he saw Lehigh play at American, to conclude his quest to see all 373 (at the time) Division I programs in person.
• Season 5, Episode 26 Brian Fowler – A longtime fan of the Raiders (Oakland, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas), Fowler set out to eclipse two Guiness World Records prior to the 2025 NFL Season. Most regular-season games attended and fastest to see a game in all 32 NFL stadiums. He accomplished both and then made the rounds during the Playoffs and the Super Bowl. A year filled with gridiron travel excitement.