Read all about the the 2024 tournament here!

See all of the 2024 Rodent Roundups here!

WHAT IS MARCH MAMMAL MADNESS (MMM)?

March Mammal Madness was inspired by the NCAA College Basketball tournament that occurs every March. Before each MMM tournament, animals are identified by the organizers of MMM. Those animals are ranked and added to that year’s bracket. The organizers of MMM then simulate competitions between the animals paired for battle, and it is your job to predict who will win before the results are released. Importantly, no animals were harmed or even handled associated with this competition!

WHAT YOU CAN WIN?

We would love for undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff, and all friends of the museum to play. Everyone is encouraged to follow along! Please consider getting your significant other, children, favorite niece or nephew, or other people you enjoy learning or competing with to help you fill out the bracket.

Raffle prizes include AUMNH swag.
The grand prize includes a $50 Visa gift certificate!

ORIGINS OF MARCH MAMMAL MADNESS

In 2013, Professor Katie Hinde from Arizona State University and her colleagues created and ran the first March Mammal Madness (MMM) competition. Since that time, March Mammal Madness has become a worldwide phenomenon with school children, college students, museums, professors, and other animal lovers of every background participating. For the third year, the Auburn University Museum of Natural History (AUMNH) will be participating, and we challenge you to join the competition!

You can learn more at the official site of March Mammal Madness!

To get started, follow March Mammal Madness via the AUMNH on Facebook, X, and/or Instagram.
You may also follow along on the social media platforms set up by the organizer of MMM, including Facebook, X (#2024MMM), YouTube, and Dr. Hinde’s blog.

FOLLOW AUMNH ON FACEBOOK, X, AND INSTAGRAM TO KEEP UP WITH MMM AND EVENTS WITH THE MUSEUM.

Do I have to know a lot about mammals?

No prior knowledge of any animals in the competition is required, but we hope you will learn a bit about them. If you aren’t familiar with a species, look it up! There are many great resources online that you can use to learn more about the incredible diversity of animals on our planet. The organizers of MMM put together a list of their favorite resources that you can check out here. If you think mammals, other animals, or even plants are cool – consider volunteering for the museum or participating in any of AUMNH’s outreach events.

How can I play?

Follow March Mammal Madness via the AUMNH on Facebook, X, and/or Instagram. We will use these platforms to repost each competition’s play-by-play, send reminders of when to submit your results of each round with a link, and announce the winners of each raffle.

Download the bracket here, or en español here, and consider the likely outcome of each competition. Fill out your complete bracket, from round one through the tournament champion, take a photo of your bracket, and submit it as a .jpg or .pdf.

Here is an example.

Follow the results on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram and after each round mark up your bracket, calculate your score, and submit your bracket and results. You can find the link by clicking on each submission line listed in the schedule below.

Please mark your results by circling the winners you predicted and crossing through those that did not win.

See examples below:

Calculate your score by counting the wins you predicted for the round and then multiplying that number by the number of points awarded for each correct prediction. The points for each win by round are listed by round in the middle of the bracket. For example, on the 2020 bracket, participants got one point for each win in round 1, so if someone picked 18 correct wins, that person would get a score of 18 (18 x 1). In contrast, participants got 5 points for each win in round 4, and thus, if a person had three correct predictions, they would get 15 points for the round (3 x 5). If a participant is no longer in the competition because they had no wins in the current or previous round, that person may enter 0 for their score, and they will get one entry in the raffle.

Submit your bracket and your results following each round. When you do, your name will be entered into a raffle. There will be a raffle at the end of each of the six rounds of play. The number of times your name is entered into the raffle will be determined by your score for that round. Anyone can win, but if you have a higher score, your probability of winning is higher. What if you got skunked? It happens. Please still enter your score (0), and we will still put your name on one ticket and drop it in the hat.

2024 Schedule

Please check the schedule regularly; edits will be made as needed.

Mon, Feb 12	Division Announcement
Thurs, Feb 22	BRACKET DROP DAY!
Thurs, Feb 22-Thur, Mar 1, 11:59 pm	Submit your predictions for the full bracket
Mon, Mar 11, 7:00 pm	Wild card results released
Wed, Mar 13, 7:00 pm	Round 1: Epic Animals Division results released
Thurs, Mar 14, 7:00 pm	Round 1: Connoisseur Critters Division results released
Mon, Mar 18, 7:00 pm	Round 1: Rainbow Collection Division results released
Wed, Mar 20, 7:00 pm	Round 1: Take a Bow Division results released
Wed, Mar 20, 7:00 pm-Fri, Mar 22, 11:59 pm	Submit your score for the Wild Card and all Round 1 competitions
Thurs, Mar 21, 7:00 pm	Round 2: Epic Animals and Connoisseur Critters results released
Mon, Mar 25, 7:00 pm	Round 2: Rainbow Collection and Take a Bow results released
Mon, Mar 25, 7:00 pm-Wed, Mar 27, 11:59 pm	Submit your score for the Round 2 competitions
Wed, Mar 27, 7:00 pm	Sweet Sixteen results released
Thurs, Mar 28, 7:00 pm	Elite Trait results released
Mon, Apr 1, 7:00 pm	Final Roar results released
Mon, Apr 1, 7:00 pm- Wed, Apr 3, 11:59 pm	Submit your score for the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Trait and Final Roar competitions
Wed, Apr 3, 7:00 pm	Championship!
Wed, Apr 3, 7:00 pm-Fri, Apr 5, 11:59 pm	Submit your score for the Championship Match

The rules:

To participate, you must submit your bracket on time. No changes to your bracket can be made after initial submission. Raffles will be conducted after each round. You must participate in the current and all previous rounds to be eligible.

Auburn has a natural history museum!

Please join our biodiversity team. The museum has several volunteering opportunities and participates in several citizen science programs.

Volunteer workers perform tasks vital to the maintenance and use of the museum’s collections. During their activities, volunteers gain curatorial experience, increase their familiarity with a diversity of flora and fauna, assist with ongoing research and outreach, and have the opportunity to interact with a variety of scientists and the public. For more information or to volunteer your services, please explore our volunteering opportunities.

Citizen science programs allow the participation of everyone in the scientific process. By participating in a citizen science program, you can explore your interest in the natural world while collecting real-world data and assisting with research that helps us better understand and conserve our natural world. Please visit our citizen science page for more information.

Think mammals are cool, and you are a biology or wildlife major at Auburn? Consider taking Dr. Hood’s Mammalogy class (BIOL 5760). It is offered every fall.

Thanks to Dr. Katie Hinde and colleagues for putting together this fantastic competition and thanks to AU undergrads Hannah Eubanks, Natalie Powers, and Sloane Daley for helping to organize the AUMNH MMM competition!
-From, the AUMNH and the Auburn Tigers!