The buzz among your teens this week likely centers around the annual NCAA basketball tournament, i.e. "March Madness." Don't let the excitement slip away without capturing some of it for your theology class! There are a number of fun things that connect religion, Catholic identity, and basketball that you can do with your students.
Start with the basics. Pass out a printable tournament bracket sheet and have the students circle all the Catholic colleges in the field of 68 (up four from previous years). While they're at it, have the do the annual ratings of Catholic college teams based on the tournament seedings. Here's how it shakes out this year.
Catholic College Ratings
1. Notre Dame (2)
2(t). Xavier (6)
2(t). Georgetown (6)
2(t). St. John's (6)
5. Villanova (9)
6. Marquette (11)
Gonzaga (8)
8. St. Peter's (14)
Continue by having the students identify each of the Catholic colleges in the tournament with their locations by city and state:
Notre Dame (Notre Dame (South Bend), IN)
Xavier (Cincinnati, OH)
Georgetown (Washington, DC)
St. John's (Queens, NY)
Villanova (Villanova (Radnor), PA)
Marquette (Milwaukee, WI)
Gonzaga (Spokane, WA)
St. Peter's (Jersey City, NJ)
Next, have them identify the founding religious community of each college:
Jesuit (Xavier, Georgetown, Marquette, Gonzaga, St. Peter's)
Holy Cross (Notre Dame)
Vincentian (St. John's)
Augustinian (Villanova)
Research Work: Have the students research each team and determine which roster has the most players named after saints and/or biblical characters.
Interactive: Develop some quiz questions based on your current lesson plan for the week. Divide the class into two teams for a head-to-head competition. In the spirit of the week, bring in a nerf ball and have the teams compete for bonus points by being able to sink the ball into a strategically placed trash can.
Report: There are many Catholics who coach college basketball. Ask the students to report on three famous Catholic coaches from the past: Lou Carnesecca (St. John's), Al McGuire (Marquette), and Ray Meyer (DePaul).
Feel free to add some NCAA March Madness ideas for your religion classroom in the comments section below!
