After over twenty years of filling out brackets, Ben Hendricks finally has something to show for it. Hendricks was the big winner in KUSports.com’s 2009 NCAA Tournament bracket contest, sponsored by Kief’s Audio/Video. He loaded up his new 50″ Panasonic plasma HDTV Friday afternoon and hauled it back to his home in Merriam, Kan.

“Usually I finish about middle of the pack and get beat by someone’s daughter who picked teams by the color of their jerseys,” Hendricks joked. He picked the Final Four matchups and championship game correctly.

“Apparently all of the basketball I watched this year paid off.”

After only entering three different bracket contests, with each bracket differing slightly, Hendricks said he filled out his KUSports.com bracket based on first instincts and didn’t look at it again until the contest was over. His friends kept him posted throughout the tournament, if for no other reason than their interest in finally getting Hendricks into the world of high defintion television.

“I’m probably one of the only people in my circle of friends that doesn’t have one,” said Hendricks

Hendricks said he’s a die-hard KU fan, and has been ever since following the 1986 Final Four team, despite coming from a split household – his Mom was a KU grad and his Dad a Missouri alumn.

“It’s a year-round obsession,” said Hendricks.

Another KUSports.com user, aw41285, finished with seven more points than Hendricks, but did not fill out the official contest entry form and therefore was not eligible to win the TV.