When examining the television ratings for the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, the mix of factors goes a long way in producing the final numbers.

The 2005 men's tournament rode the momentum of a string of intriguing upsets and competitive games from the first weekend of competition through the championship game to post the most impressive ratings in almost a decade. An estimated audience of 141.7 million viewers watched all or part of the 2005 men's tournament, the most to tune in since 153.7 million watched in 1998.

Down-to-the-wire finishes in several games, including the regional finals, and teams with strong fan followings such as North Carolina, Illinois, Michigan State, Kentucky, Louisville and Duke making significant runs through the bracket provided the right blend of ingredients for lofty ratings.

"The Final Four teams had a deep grass-roots fan base," said CBS Vice-President of Pro gramming Mike Aresco. "You had Kentucky go deep into the tournament and of course play the double-overtime game with Michigan State (in the Austin Regional final). We also had a tremendous presence in the Big Ten this year, especially in the Chicago regional because of Illinois. When you have those particular half-dozen schools with large fan bases go deep into the tournament, you are basically mobilizing a good portion of the basketball viewing public -- and they are going to follow the whole tournament."

Inroads for women's ratings, too

On the women's side, the overall ratings dropped 14 percent from last year's tournament, but further inspection reveals a bigger picture.

The 2004 tournament, which culminated in a made-for-television matchup of Connecticut (featuring senior all-American Diana Taurasi) against rival Tennessee, was the highest-rated collegiate basketball game, men or women, in ESPN history. The game drew a rating of 4.28.

That's a tough act to follow, and the 2005 numbers expectantly dipped from a 1.47 overall rating on ESPN to a 1.27 in 2005.

However, the overall rating for games on ESPN2 went up 10 percent compared to contests that were broadcast on that network in 2004.

Pat Summitt's 880th career victory, achieved in Tennessee's second-round win over Purdue and surpassing the record of legendary North Carolina men's coach Dean Smith, was the catalyst for the ratings surge. Summitt's milestone victory also set a precedent within the ESPN family.

"That was the highest-rated and most-viewed game on ESPN2 in our history," said Carol Stiff, ESPN's director of programming and acquisitions. "And it was a second-round game. We synched-up all six of our networks at the conclusion of the game. That had never been done in our history. The game was on ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPNU. And at the end of the game at 11:23 or so, we were in SportsCenter and we cut there live. ESPN Classic dropped out of the taped program they were in to cut in live and ESPNews came live. ESPN Deportes, our domestic all-Spanish network, came in to capture the moment. So history was made that night."

The Women's Final Four semifinals also faced tough entertainment competition on April 3 when Major League Baseball's season-opening game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox aired at the same time. ESPN doesn't control when Major League Baseball makes its games available, but a game featuring baseball's hottest rivalry with the debut of Randy Johnson pitching for the Yankees made for good business.

Despite having two come-from-behind wins in which Baylor and Michigan State overcame double-digit deficits, the women's ratings fell 15 percent when compared to 2004.

But again, a deeper look showed the cable sports network achieved another milestone. At one point, the women's rating reached 2.7, which marked the first time two ESPN networks had two programs reach that rating simultaneously.

"The Final Four three-game average was the fourth-most viewed we've had in the 10-year history of doing the tournament," Stiff said. "It was still a strong, respectable three-game average."

Ratings stand test of time

CBS had an indication that the 2005 men's tournament could have big ratings. In the regular season, CBS's average rating was 2.0, which means roughly two million households and about four to five million viewers were tuned into games throughout the season.

Some of the big draws included Kansas visiting Kentucky, which had a 3.6 rating. The final regular-season games on March 6 included Illinois' first loss of the season, which came on a last-second three-pointer at Ohio State. That game was followed by a thriller between Duke and North Carolina, which also drew a 3.6 rating despite competing against an unexpected Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson duel for a PGA Tour championship.

"We stretched the inventory quite a bit," Aresco said. "To be able to increase your rating in that situation is a pretty good accomplishment."

Seeing the ratings reach a high level in the regular season supports the popularity of the game. CBS likes the trend of adding big non-conference games to the broadcast schedule in January and February.

"People really do like those big intersectional games," Aresco said. "We had Connecticut and North Carolina, and we had Kentucky and Kansas. Then at the end of the year you get big conference matchups like Duke-Carolina, Connecticut-Syracuse and Illinois-Ohio State, which had special appeal this year because Illinois was undefeated."

Still, high regular-season ratings don't always equate into the tournament being a ratings bonanza.

"That has a whole different set of dynamics," Aresco said. "People focus far more on the tournament, and competitive games are critical. The audience is there. Sometimes in the regular season, no matter how competitive the game, you're not necessarily going to generate the same audience."

Bodes well for future

Besides being familiar with the institutions that reached the Final Four, college basketball fans also were familiar with the student-athletes competing for the marquee teams. Illinois was led by juniors Deron Williams and Dee Brown, and senior Luther Head. North Carolina's lineup featured the heralded junior class of Sean May, Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants.

"People knew the players," Aresco said. "We had some extraordinary things happen. They don't happen every year, and may not happen every 10 years. You had that West Virginia-Wake Forest double-overtime game (March 19). On the second night of the tournament, you had the Vermont and Bucknell upsets. When have we seen that on the same night? In addition, you had the regional weekend, which arguably might be the greatest weekend in NCAA history. You had incredibly riveting games, and it wasn't like the fourth one was bad. The Wisconsin-North Carolina game in any other tournament might have been considered a near classic. It was terrific."

And keep in mind, that the Nielsen Television Ratings only gauge televisions in households. That leaves out gatherings at sports bars and restaurants.

"We have some idea of how significant the numbers are," Aresco said. "We've done some of our own studies, but the advertisers and clients know it's there. In terms of out-of-home viewing for an event like this -- every college campus in the U.S., you can imagine what the ratings would be for those dorm rooms. You are talking about a significant out-of-home viewership, no question. Some day that will be measured. It's coming, but it will probably be awhile."

Attaining ratings that haven't been seen in several years is another upward trend CBS believes bodes well for the future.

"The 2005 men's tournament obviously exceeded expectations and gave us encouragement," Aresco said. "It shows the sport is healthy and becoming more popular every year. Teams are getting even better, and we have the really good marquee teams who are being stretched to the limit by other teams. That may not have happened years ago."