DALLAS — March Madness often requires a kind of commitment that keeps you planted on the couch, eyes fixed on the TV, snacks within reach. For some men, that commitment may make it easier for them to do a certain procedure.
It’s a well-documented phenomenon over the years that the rate of vasectomies — a form of permanent birth control for men — tends to rise during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. So many men choose to schedule their vasectomies around the event that it’s earned a nickname: “vas madness.”
“I imagine my wife would have a hard time with me watching four straight days of basketball, but I kinda have an excuse now,” Rob Myklebust, an Idaho man, told Boise’s KTVB-TV in 2017.
The minimally invasive, in-office procedure requires a few days of rest and limited activity, making a stretch of televised basketball quite convenient. But how did this pairing take hold — and what does a vasectomy involve? Here’s what to know.
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What is a vasectomy?
Vasectomies emerged as a form of birth control following World War II, gaining traction in the United States during the 1950s. Today, over 500,000 vasectomies are performed each year, with about 11% of men ages 18 to 64 reported having had the procedure, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation Women’s 2024 Healthy Survey. Since the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in 2022, demand has risen nationwide — including in Texas — as men seek out vasectomies.
The procedure involves blocking the small tubes — called the vas deferens — that carry sperm from the testicles, said Dr. Kenneth Goldberg, an assistant professor of urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, who has done thousands of vasectomies. Ejaculation is still possible, but the fluid does not contain sperm, so there is minimal risk of getting a partner pregnant.
Patients are told to stay off their feet for two days following the procedure, Goldberg said. “That’s why typically most vasectomies are done on Fridays and that’s also part of the reason” why they may be more common during March Madness, he added. “When you have all those games going on, it’s a good excuse for the guys to be inactive, staying off their feet and keeping the ice on.”
Goldberg said he has seen some men come in for vasectomies — often at the urging of their partners — during major sports events, including March Madness and the NFL playoffs. Dr. Scott Webster, a urologist at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, said he has noticed men often scheduling their procedures in the lead-up to big games.
“In my history, in Texas specifically, if there is a spike, it’s probably a bit for March Madness, certainly for the Masters weekend,” Webster said. “Around end of August or beginning of September, where people are like, ‘I want to get this done and go watch football in peace for the weekend.’ ”
The birth control effects from a vasectomy are not immediate, Goldberg and Webster said. Millions of sperm can remain in the tubes, typically requiring about 20 to 30 ejaculations to clear. A semen analysis is performed eight to 12 weeks after the procedure to confirm it was successful and that no sperm remain.
As long as they stay off their feet, most men make a full recovery and return to their normal routine within a week, Goldberg and Webster said. Those who don’t follow the rest guidelines run a small risk of complications, including bruising or swelling of the scrotum, infection or, more rarely, post-vasectomy pain syndrome, a chronic pain condition affecting the testicles.
“You hear stories of men who go out and do too much and get a scrotum the size of a basketball or grapefruit,” Goldberg said. “That can happen, and if that happens, it can take months to go away.”
Vasectomies can be reversed, but there is no guarantee that will work. According to the Mayo Clinic, the success rate for a vasectomy reversal can run anywhere from 60% to 95%, and it can depend on how far out someone is from their initial procedure, Webster said.
A marketing scheme
Research backs up the trend around vasectomies spiking around March Madness.
A 2017 study by health care system Athenahealth found urologists in its network performed 30% more vasectomies during the first week of March Madness in 2016 than during an average week the rest of the year.
A 2018 study in the journal Urology analyzing insurance claims from millions of American men found an increase in vasectomies performed in March, which the researchers suggested may be tied to the tournament. The study also noted a spike at the end of the year, when patients have met their insurance deductibles, making vasectomies easier on the wallet.
But the origins of vasectomies becoming linked to March Madness appear to trace back to a marketing campaign by an Oregon urology clinic, which took out a radio advertisement in the late 2000s.
“You go in for a little snip, snip and come out with doctor’s orders to sit back and watch nonstop basketball,” the voice-over promised. “If you miss out on this, you’ll end up recovering during a weekend marathon of Desperate Housewives!"
Since then, the marketing tactic has spread nationwide, with urology clinics — including some in North Texas — encouraging men to take advantage of the March Madness timing. So if you need an excuse to keep watching to see whether the Longhorns will advance, you might consider giving your urologist a call.
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Miriam Fauzia is a science reporting fellow at The Dallas Morning News. Her fellowship is supported by the University of Texas at Dallas. The News makes all editorial decisions.
