Deep within the bowels of Yager Stadium is a dark locker room, occasionally used by some of the "other" varsity sports. In this room, there is a board that remembers "The MAC's Greatest Victory." This is of course speaking of the hallowed day in 1986 when the Miami University Redskins (one of the most politically incorrect nicknames in history) took down the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers who were ranked eighth in the country at the time. The board has every article published about the football game (people in Idaho even knew about this game) and it recalls a time when "little Miami" took down a college football powerhouse.

However, with all the upsets that have taken place recently in the NCAA basketball tournament, surely there must be a victory somewhere in the annals of tournament history that compares to the victory over LSU, right? So I hopped in the DeLorean from Back to the Future and took a ride through recent history to find another great victory for the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

The year was 1999, and our own Miami was living in Wally's World as Walter "Wally" Szczerbiak led Miami to the Sweet Sixteen. In the first round, Wally put the team on his back and scored 43 of his team's 58 points to beat the University of Washington 58-57. Forty-three points out of 58! For those of you non-math majors, that's nearly 75 percent of the Miami's points. He even blocked a last second shot attempt by the Huskies that would have ended Miami's run early. Even though he may have been sore from carrying his team into the round of 32, Wally still led the team to a victory of No. 2 seed, Utah. The Utes had coaching legend Rick Majerus and were led by Andre Miller, who would become an established NBA player. The RedHawks eventually fell to Kansas, but even today people still remember Wally dancing Miami into tournament history.

The deepest a MAC team has gone in the tournament (in its current format with 64 teams) was in 2002 when Kent State University (KSU) made it to the Elite Eight. None of the players that led the Golden Flashes that year would play in the NBA. In fact, the most famous of any of those players was Antonio Gates, who has gained a reputation as one of the best tight ends in the NFL. The biggest upset KSU pulled during their run was against the SEC champions and No. 2-seeded University of Alabama Crimson Tide on their way to reach the Sweet Sixteen. The Tide had held the No. 1 ranking in the country for a time that year, and was led by future NBA All-Star Mo Williams. The Flashes shrugged off 'Bama only to fall to the Indiana University Hoosiers who made it to the championship game. By that time, KSU had already made their mark.

While I won't try and pretend that I picked Ohio University to take down Georgetown University this year, they kept up the tradition of MAC upsets of big-time programs. This was their first win in the tournament since 1983, and the victory effectively ruined that side of my bracket. Few people picked them to win, and even those that did were shocked when it happened, but it's those moments that make people love March Madness.

The MAC is not part of the Bowl Championship Series, does not routinely make the top 25 in the national polls and does not have first round draft picks leading its teams every year. Nevertheless, its teams have pulled some of the best upsets in NCAA tournament history. They beat the programs that had pampered stars, with full scholarships for everyone and possible NCAA violations. That's why these upsets are so special. Whether it's David versus Goliath, Henry V's victory over the French on St. Crispin's Day in 1415, or the simple Cinderella story, everybody loves an upset by the underdog.