The motto of Maguire University is “We Play Hurt,” a simple saying that has a lot of colorful history behind it. Our devoted student body of jollymen and jollywomen have been representing Maguire at NCAA Final Four basketball games since 1963! Our unique take on March Madness got its start that year at a bar in Forest Park frequented by high school and college basketball coaches from the area.

As an impromptu prank one night, a band of tavern regulars decided to fill out an application form to the NCAA’s basketball tournament under the made up school name of “Maguire University.” Against all expectations, their submission was accepted and the group received a block of very hard to get tickets to tournament – which back then wasn’t even known yet as the Final Four.

The hoax – complete with a fictional roster of players and a coaching staff consisting of bar owner John Maguire and a few regulars -continued for a while until sports media eventually revealed the true status of our “college.” Even though the NCAA revoked their tickets and hotel rooms for a time, the Maguire team continued to go to the games and remains committed to fun and to the enjoyment of great college basketball.