History of the MaDneSs...
Rak Madness football started back in 1997 after successfully running the NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness tourney for four years, hence the name Rak Madness. Yup, it all started with a round ball instead of a prolate spheroid (football). The football pool came about one day late summer ’97 just chewing the fat with a few co-workers during lunch in the AT&T break room. A couple rules here, a couple there, weekly winner, half-way winner, overall winner, how much can people afford a week… yatta yatta yatta, we have ourselves a pool. That Labor Day weekend and for the next 16 weeks I was running around the office picking up everyone’s selections on 4×4 sheets of paper.
Rak Madness has grown, now we have 4 pools starting off with our staple, Weekly Pick’em pool. We’ve added the Survivor Pool, NFL Points Pool and in 2019 we added the “Family Matters Pool” (Partner up with a Family member or friend and combine your Weekly Pick’em score). We want people to not only enjoy watching the games but have a small stake in it too.
MEET THE BOARD...
Founder CEO, CFO, & Web Admin
Creating a pool like no other was the goal and it was accomplished by combining both, College & NFL Games on one ticket. This combination provides solid entertainment all weekend long throughout the fall. I’ve held two jobs since leaving The U, one in entertainment, the other communications. (a few yrs in the NFL, 27 with AT&T) and for the past 25 years I have been combining the two occupations and giving back to the community providing a little happiness for some, frustration for others, but Madness For ALL.
Gambling Operations & Forecasting
Sean ‘the Weatherman’ Nolan…. member of the Madness since day one. Sean is a US Army veteran, former Army Weather Officer, a meteorologist for Missouri TV station, former personal weather guru for Mayor Giuliani.. and after many years on the Horse racing handicapping circuit, now a NHC (National Horseplayers Championship) nationally ranked handicapper. As of Aug 2024, Sean is ranked 57th out of 3k + members. Who wouldn’t want this guy on their board? or at least with you when you visit the track.
VP Research & Rules Committee
Chris, like ’the weatherman’, has been a member of the Madness from the beginning. Chris has an extensive gambling background, but from the other side of the window. Instead of betting on the horses, he was taking the bets. No, not as a bookie, as a teller at Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, NJ. Most tellers, stone faced and cold, Chris brought personality to the position. Often offering advice or smirking when someone would bet on horse that was just in the race to fill the field. Chris even took money from Pete Rose! After 17yrs, the taste of legalized gambling fueled his passion for a career in gaming. Chris recently celebrated 29 yrs with NJ State Gaming Commission
VP IT Tech Support
Mark Henley joined the Madness in 1999 and what a blessing he’s been. Mark, who is a striking resemblance to IT Giant Bill Gates (in mind not money) and earned him the nickname ‘BG’ to those close to him, took one look at doing picks on paper before he suggested we take it to the next level… Online. Working out of his garage, BG started a mini-server company, Swift Image and Rakmadness.com was born. I was his 1st and ONLY customer, Talk about customer service. BG was my mentor and I learned so much from him. His vision and knowledge of computers, servers, html etc. were and still are an integral part of taking the Madness Global. BG was and is the ONLY choice to lead our Tech Division.