Utah's Mr. NCAA

Bruce Woodbury refers to it as a baptism by fire.

In 1979, as the University of Utah's sports information director, he oversaw aspects of media relations for the Final Four. While Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were honing their skills for a bright future in the NBA, Woodbury commenced a big part of his career.

Over the next 27 years, he'd oversee 13 more segments of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Salt Lake City. The total includes this week's first and second rounds in the Huntsman Center.

"It seems like yesterday when we had the Final Four with Magic and Bird," Woodbury said. "Then they retired from the NBA. So obviously it's been a while."

The passing of time, however, has not aged Woodbury's enthusiasm for the tournament. He still considers it big-time fun.

"It's cool because the eyes of the nation are on Salt Lake watching the premier sporting event in the country. People are tuned into your games," Woodbury said. "It's fun. It's something that's really hard to explain, but obviously the fans like it. They know what it is. They know how much fun it is to go to these games. There's nothing like NCAA tournament basketball."

That, Woodbury continued, is why he doesn't mind spending much of Selection Sunday at the arena contacting participating schools and finalizing preparations. Approximately 400 media credentials will be issued for games at the Huntsman Center.

Tourney bracket Requires Adobe Acrobat.

It's a crazy start to a week filled with the issuing of media credentials, seating charts and attending to the needs of dozens of reporters and observers. Teams and officials are stationed at 10 different hotels.

"You've got to have a lot of help from a lot of people — on campus, staff, volunteers, the city and companies," said Woodbury, who employs 50-60 helpers to cover the various tasks. "It's a big deal. There's a lot of details."

None, though, cause Woodbury to sweat. When it comes to hosting tournament games, he's been there and done that — successfully bridging technology from ditto machines to wireless networks.

"It's not always about basketball. It's about the whole atmosphere," Woodbury said. "Walking around the concourse during the NCAA tournament is just electric. You go: 'Wow, this is really cool."'

So much so, in fact, that Woodbury is feeling a bit sentimental this time around. With impending retirement, this will be his last tour of duty as a U. employee.

"I guess that's the way it is with anything," he said.