• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, March 15, 2022

It’s tip-off time. And with college basketball fans hoping that this year’s March Madness tournament will deliver all the zany unpredictability it's famous for, restaurant brands are especially dialed in. 

Wendy’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Pizza Hut are all official sponsors. Denny’s is also promoting the event heavily. And local bars and restaurants are making special offers, hoping to reconnect with the fan base, with in-store viewing parties and comfy-on-your-couch delivery.

This year’s tournament marks a special moment in pandemic progress. When the NCAA cancelled the 2020 contest in the earliest days of the pandemic, it seemed unthinkable. Shocked sports fans struggled to take in the enormity of the COVID-19 crisis.

And while the tournament was played in 2021, it lost some of its hold on people amid debates about player safety. The final game, played in a bubble with Baylor beating Gonzaga to win its first-ever tournament, drew 16.9 million viewers to CBS Sports. That represented a 14% decline from the 2019 game. And the men’s Final Four games attracted an average of 14.9 million viewers. 

With ads sold out for both the men’s and women’s tournaments, many marketers hope that viewership will again top 20 million, which hasn’t happened since the 2017 game attracted 22 million.

Fans are hoping that this year’s games, with spectators, cheerleaders and all the usual mayhem, will bring back some of the frenetic magic.

Many bracketologists believe it will. “This year’s tournament of buzzer beaters and bracket busters is set up to be even more chaotic than usual,” writes FiveThirtyEight. Unlike last season, when two teams dominated the rankings, “seven different teams held the No. 2 spot in the AP Poll, quite the departure from last season when one team held it in all but two iterations.” 

Buffalo Wild Wings, the official sports bar of the games, is certainly hoping for more excitement. It’s once again romancing the adrenaline of close games, with more of its “Overtime is wingtime” promotions. 

Any time a game enters overtime, members of its loyalty program can get a delivery of six free wings. Buffalo Wild Wings is also marking the launch of its collaboration with Overtime, offering branded apparel.

Wendy’s, the official breakfast of NCAA March Madness, has brought NBA great Reggie Miller back as the ultimate superfan. Miller is down at his local Wendy’s, manning the drive-through and watching games from hs recliner.

The Dublin, Ohio-based company is offering fan-fueling deals, including $1 for a Dave's Single, ordered through the app, half off breakfast orders made through the app, $3 off larger orders and no delivery fees for app orders made through the end of the tournament.

Denny’s is also using the event to drive delivery, waiving fees for app and online orders for a three-day period.

Pizza Hut has released plenty of new ads to support its connection, including a new Craig Robinson spot called “Thinking you can OutPizza the Hut is madness.”