What's the best place to catch March Madness? Or a game with, say, Sharon Stone? Last week our parent mag unveiled its top sports bars, the joints that cater foremost to serious sports fans. SIOC assembled its own campus-exclusive list, in which the food, the frills and the froth take a backseat to the Big Game

1. The Houndstooth, ALABAMA
1300 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa
We're on a mission from God -- or our editor -- to embark on a pub crawl that will take us to the top three bars on this list. It's 1,079 miles from Tuscaloosa to Columbia to Stillwater. We've got three days, a Toyota Corolla and half the fruit basket from the Holiday Inn. And yes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it.

Alas, the 'Tooth is closed. As we peer through the dusty windows of this shanty of a college sports bar, it appears the joint hasn't been aired out for months. "They'll be open by game time," a passerby assures us. "Fridays they're open till dawn, so give 'em some time."

Sure enough, by tip-off we are nestled up to the island bar. A rump is glued to every seat, and all eyes are on a big screen showing 'Bama-Ole Miss. Patrons pump their fists at every rebound and berate the refs with an intensity reserved in most places for late March. The four pool tables, dart board and Golden Tee machine sit unattended. Bear Bryant's stare is unavoidable: Artful renderings of the coaching icon adorn every wall. In 1982 the Bear hung up his houndstooth cap, and six years later this drinking shrine was erected.

Imagine a football Saturday: The 'Tooth opens at 8 a.m. The patio is packed with pregamers watching the belles cruise the Strip. Inside, the dingy three-room bar is jammed with fans tuned to one of the 27 TVs -- including several in the bathrooms, thus providing wall-to-stall coverage. There's no food, no frills, and it is perfect.