The 2013 NCAA® Men's Final Four® marks the 75th Anniversary of the Final Four®, which will be held in Atlanta, GA. To celebrate 75 years of championships, the NCAA, in partnership with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the NABC Foundation, has commissioned world renowned sports artist, Opie Otterstad, to paint a one-of-a-kind piece of art for each of the 75 years of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship highlighting the coach of the national championship team. Once all of the art has been revealed, the artwork will be combined into one large piece to tell the story of the 75 years of NCAA March Madness.
"These are the greatest coaches and teachers in the history of college basketball," said Dan Gavitt, NCAA vice president of men's basketball. "The NCAA is eternally grateful for their impact on the lives of the student-athletes they coached and we are thrilled to partner with the NABC and the NABC Foundation to honor these 47 coaches and their place in the tradition of March Madness with this collection of 75 paintings."
"We're pleased to celebrate the crowning achievements of the coaches who have guided their teams to championships over the past 75 years," said Jim Haney, executive director of the NABC. "This collection of artwork will serve as a unique and permanent reminder of these coaches' accomplishments on the court and their incredible contributions to the game of basketball."
You're invited to be a part of history by purchasing the original piece of art or one of the 250 limited edition reproductions. Each original piece of art will be auctioned off for approximately 10 days and the limited edition reproductions will be available while supplies last.
Opie Otterstad The Artist
Opie Otterstad has been a sports artist for the past 18 years. Most of his work has been private commissions from inside the professional sporting community, with his first pieces of art for Evander Holyfield, Greg Norman, and Berhard Langer. With a lot of creativity, an eye on the past and the present, he tries to show the world of sports that art can take some thought without being incomprehensible. He has a passion for the spirit of the athlete and telling the story of sports in our time.
He graduated from St. Olaf College with a Bachelors Degree in Studio Art and one in Psychology, then continued his education by earning a Masters in Psychology. Opie is very interested in the lives and histories of his subjects. Each of his works tell a story about his subject - some are obvious and some are much more vague.
Over the past 20 years, Opie has created about 2,000 works of art with the majority of the pieces focused on sports art.
