March Madness Women’s Basketball
Round 1
Media Work Day at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, TX

Spring Break week is more than just having time off from the grind of academics, whether at the university level, high school, or elsewhere. It is the time when March Madness rears its competitive head in the world of college basketball.

With TCU winning the 2025–26 Big 12 Women’s Basketball regular-season championship for the second consecutive year, the victory placed the Horned Frogs in position to host rounds one and two of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament.

TCU was indeed selected, and for the second consecutive year the Horned Frogs are one of the host sites for rounds one and two.

This year’s matchups see TCU (3) facing UC San Diego (14), while the Washington Huskies (6) take on the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State University (11). Even though TCU is playing at its home arena, the Horned Frogs are listed as visitors in round one.

Rounds one and two will be played on Friday, March 20, and Sunday, March 22. Media members picked up credentials on Thursday, allowing entry into the arena for press conferences with players and coaches throughout the day.

While working in the media room processing and editing signage and press conference images, the first round of the men’s March Madness tournament featured TCU playing Ohio State on the television in the media workroom.

Once I arrived at the arena, I immediately began photographing March Madness signage throughout the venue and on the court.

There seems to be a current pattern with my playlist. AC/DC’s Let There Be Rock soundtrack has been a great starting point, and today was no different. Let There Be Rock once again guided my ears for the day’s first selection.

I did have some downtime, which allowed LTBR to play through before heading over to the adjacent press conference room.

Up first were TCU’s Marta Suárez, Donovyn Hunter, and Big 12 Women’s Basketball Player of the Year Olivia Miles. The trio spoke to the media for fifteen minutes. Immediately following the players’ session, TCU women’s head basketball coach Mark Campbell took the podium for the coaches’ press conference.

By this time, I needed a new selection. Sticking with the live album and soundtrack theme, I went with Live from Radio City Music Hall by Heaven & Hell. You can’t go wrong with Dio-era Sabbath songs such as “Children of the Sea,” “Lady Evil,” “The Sign of the Southern Cross,” “Die Young,” “Heaven and Hell,” and “Neon Knights.”

My second selection played through completely, sending me back to iTunes to dial up In the Beginning, the 1985 debut album from Malice, released on Atlantic Records.

This was the final selection for the day, as I needed to pack up and head toward the Haltom Theater. Warlord and Onslaught were in town for the second night of their tour, following a kickoff performance the previous night at the Hell’s Heroes VIII music festival in Houston.

Warlord plays an important role in my musical DNA dating back to my senior year of high school. Securing an autographed album directly from the band as a devoted fan remains one of the highlights of my final semester.

I also had to stop by and say hello to the person who made it all happen, Mark Zonder, drummer and founding member of Warlord.

I decided to go back to the press conference room and take a photo or two of one of the microphones on the table, along with the March Madness backdrop featuring the logo and hashtag. This gave me the opportunity to dial up iTunes once again. This time, Metallica’s Kill ’Em All graced my earbuds. To me, this album was a game changer when it was released in 1983. It may have taken a few months to catch fire, but the embers were glowing from day one. It remains an amazing album.