The 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament kicks off on Thursday afternoon, and if you're like the majority of fans around the country, many of the games don't interest you beyond what it means for your own bracket (and the potential for a buzzer-beater or huge upset.
Our own Rich Hofmann broke down the NCAA tournament schedule based on which games provide the best scouting opportunities for Sixers fans. But, again, that might not be your thing either.
So for the rest of you, I took the liberty of finding the most famous graduate (or at least attendee) from all 64 teams that remain.
First, a few disclaimers:
- I tried to stay away from athletes or sports figures as much as I could. Many times, those of us who work in this industry think those guys are much more popular than they actually are. For some schools, however, that was unavoidable, either because the athlete was far and away the most famous alum (see: Michael Jordan, UNC) or because there wasn't really anyone else left to pick (see: Chris Sale, FGCU).
- I tried to keep it to people who actually graduated from each school, but as was the case with my first point, that wasn't always possible (or the best choice).
- I didn't put descriptions for every person. Some just didn't need them.
- This is based entirely on my own opinion. Some of these were really hard to narrow down, so when it got close, I just picked the person that I either thought was the most famous or the funniest. You'll probably disagree with who I picked from your school. Don't @ me.
Enjoy.
EAST
For each region, we'll first list the schools in the order they appear on the bracket, then re-rank them at the bottom.
1. VILLANOVA – Bradley Cooper (attended)
16. Mount Saint Mary’s – Fred Carter (Former Sixers player)
8. Wisconsin – Dick Cheney
9. Virginia Tech – Hoda Kotb (Today Show)
OTHERS: WISC – Boz Scaggs, Both William Harley and William Davidson, Frank Lloyd Wright
5. Virginia – Tina Fey
12. UNC Wilmington – Skeet Ulrich (attended)
OTHERS: UVA – Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan from The O.C.), Georgia O’Keeffe (attended)
4. Florida – Faye Dunaway (attended)
13. E. Tenn. St. – Kenny Chesney
OTHERS: UF – Bob Vila, Erin Andrews, Tim Tebow
6. SMU – Kathy Bates
11. USC – Will Ferrell
OTHERS: SMU – Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Aaron Spelling | USC: Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, O.J. Simpson, George Lucas
3. Baylor – Willie Nelson
14. New Mexico St. – Christine Aguilera (President of SkyMall, not the singer)
7. South Carolina – Hootie and the Blowfish (all of them)
10. Marquette – Chris Farley
OTHERS: MARQ – Bob Odenkirk (attended)
2. Duke – Richard Nixon
15. Troy – Windham Rotunda (a.k.a. Bray Wyatt of WWE)
HOW THEY SHOULD BE RANKED:
- Marquette – Chris Farley
- Duke – Richard Nixon
- USC – Will Ferrell
- Villanova – Bradley Cooper
- UVA – Tina Fey
- Baylor – Willie Nelson
- Wisconsin – Dick Cheney
- E. Tennessee – Kenny Chesney
- Florida – Faye Dunaway
- SMU – Kathy Bates
- South Carolina – Hootie
- Va. Tech – Hoda Kotb
- Troy – Bray Wyatt
- UNC-W – Skeet Ulrich
- Mount St. Mary's – Fred Carter
- New Mexico St. – Christine Aguilera
WEST
1. Gonzaga – Bing Crosby (attended)
16. S. Dakota State – Tom Daschle
OTHERS: SDST – Pete Retzlaff (Eagles), Adam Vinatieri
8. Northwestern – Julia Louis-Dreyfus (attended)
9. Vanderbilt – Al Gore
OTHERS: NW – Warren Beatty, Stephen Colbert, Seth Myers, David Schwimmer, Jerry Springer, Pharrell (attended)
5. Notre Dame – Regis Philbin
12. Princeton – James Madison
OTHERS: ND – Condoleezza Rice | PRI – Grover Cleveland, Michelle Obama, Woodrow Wilson
4. West Virginia – Don Knotts
13. Bucknell – Leslie Moonves (CBS)
OTHERS: WVU – Billy Mays, Jerry West | BUCK – Jay Wright
6. Maryland – Larry David
11. Xavier – John Boehner
OTHERS: MD – Jim Henson (Muppets), Ed Snider, Carl Bernstein (Watergate) | Xavier – Jim Bunning (MLB)
3. Florida State – Burt Reynolds
14. FGCU – Chris Sale
7. Saint Mary’s – Mahershala Ali (actor, "Moonlight"/"House of Cards")
10. VCU – Hunter “Patch” Adams (yes, that Patch Adams)
2. Arizona – Kourtney Kardashian
15. North Dakota – Phil Jackson
OTHERS: ARIZ – Kristen Wiig, Craig T. Nelson, Jerry Bruckheimer, Greg Kinnear, John Hughes, Bob Dole | ND – Sam Anderson (Bernard from "Lost")
HOW THEY SHOULD BE RANKED:
- Princeton – James Madison
- Vanderbilt – Al Gore
- Northwestern – Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Maryland – Larry David
- Florida St. – Burt Reynolds
- Arizona – Kourtney Kardashian
- Gonzaga – Bing Crosby
- Notre Dame – Regis Philbin
- West Virginia – Don Knotts
- North Dakota – Phil Jackson
- St. Mary's – Mahershala Ali
- Bucknell – Les Moonves
- Xavier – John Boehner
- VCU – Patch Adams
- FGCU – Chris Sale
- S. Dakota St. – Tom Daschle
MIDWEST
1. Kansas – Paul Rudd
16. UC Davis – Matthew Moy (actor)
OTHERS: KU – Juan Manuel Santos (President of Colombia), Don Johnson, Mandy Patinkin
8. Miami – The Rock
9. Michigan State – James Caan
OTHERS: THE U – Ray Liotta, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Estefan, Matt Mullin, Enrique Iglesias | MSU – Magic Johnson
5. Iowa State – George Washington Carver
12. Nevada – Washoe (first chimp to learn sign language)
4. Purdue – Neil Armstrong
13. Vermont – Rupert von Trapp (real-life Friedrich from "The Sound of Music")
OTHERS: UVM – Ben Affleck (attended), John LeClair, Rollie Massimino
6. Creighton – Bob Gibson
11. Rhode Island – J.T. Walsh (Col. Markinson, "A Few Good Men")
3. Oregon – Phil Knight
14. Iona – Don McLean
OTHERS: ORE – Kaitlin Olson ("Always Sunny"), Ann Curry, Ty Burrell ("Modern Family")
7. Michigan – Gerald Ford
10. OK State – Garth Brooks
OTHERS: MICH – James Earle Jones, Tom Brady
2. Louisville – Diane Sawyer
15. Jacksonville St. – Danny Willett (Masters Champ)
HOW THEY SHOULD BE RANKED:
- Purdue – Neil Armstrong
- Michigan – Gerald Ford
- Miami – The Rock
- Kansas – Paul Rudd
- Louisville – Diane Sawyer
- Iowa State – George Washington Carver
- Michigan St. – James Caan
- OK State – Garth Brooks
- Oregon – Phil Knight
- Vermont – Rupert von Trapp
- Iona – Don McLean
- Creighton – Bob Gibson
- Rhode Island – J.T. Walsh
- UC Davis – Matthew Moy
- Jacksonville St. – Danny Willett
- Nevada – Washoe
SOUTH
1. UNC – Michael Jordan
16. Texas Southern – Michael Strahan
8. Seton Hall – Dule Hill (actor)
9. Arkansas – Jerry Jones
OTHERS: SH – Dick Vitale
5. Butler – Jim Jones (cult leader)
12. Winthrop – Andie MacDowell
4. Minnesota – Bob Dylan
13. M. Tennessee St. – Hillary Scott (Lady Antebellum)
6. Cincinnati – William Howard Taft
11. Kansas State – Eric Stonestreet ("Modern Family")
OTHERS: KSU – Kirstie Alley
3. UCLA – Ben Stiller
14. Kent State – Drew Carey
OTHERS: UCLA – Tim Robbins, James Franco, George Takei, John Williams (composer), Francis Ford Coppola, Carol Burnett | KENT – Steve Harvey, Michael Keaton, Arsenio Hall, Dolph Ziggler (WWE)
7. Dayton – John Gruden
10. Wichita State – Shirley Knight
OTHERS: WSU – The Big Show
15. N. Kentucky – George Clooney
2. Kentucky – Ashley Judd
HOW THEY SHOULD BE RANKED:
- UNC – Michael Jordan
- Minnesota – Bob Dylan
- Cincinnati – William Howard Taft
- N. Kentucky – George Clooney
- Kentucky – Ashley Judd
- UCLA – Ben Stiller
- Kent State – Drew Carey
- Winthrop – Andie MacDowell
- Kansas State – Eric Stonestreet
- Texas Southern – Michael Strahan
- Dayton – John Gruden
- Wichita St. – Shirley Knight
- Seton Hall – Dule Hill
- M. Tennessee St. – Hillary Scott
- Butler – Jim Jones
- Arkansas – Jerry Jones
So who do you guys have making this Final Four?
