Iowa's Nicholas Baer confiscated a March Madness-branded rug and posted a photo of it onlineNICHOLAS BAER
Rugs with the March Madness logo on them that are in every team locker room at the NCAA Tournament have been the "hottest souvenir" for players and team staffers, and the fact that they are not for sale "makes them even more desirable," according to Bachman & Chairusmi of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The three-by-five-foot rugs are "officially supposed to stay put," but among tournament participants, there is a "fair amount of confusion about the rules." Even the NCAA is "confused about what’s supposed to stay at the sites and what can be carted away." NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Dir Ron English had said that the rugs were "among the items teams were allowed to take." However, NCAA Media Coordination & Statistics Dir David Worlock later said that the "rugs are a no-go." Worlock did say that the NCAA Tournament-branded towels that are used during the event are "fair game." Texas Tech Assistant Equipment Manager Collin Prentiss said that the team "quietly hoards as many tournament-branded towels as it can" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/1).
