It's time to share in the excitement of college basketball by filling out brackets, watching marathon coverage of games, and rooting for your favorite teams. Enjoy the experience with your students and use the opportunity to promote Catholic identity and pride by rooting for the Catholic colleges participating in the madness of March, the core 64 team field leading to champions in men's and women's basketball in early April.
Here are the rankings of Catholic colleges in this year's tournament based on their tournament seedings:
Men's Tournament
1 Villanova
2 Creighton
3 Saint Louis
4 Gonzaga
5 Dayton/Providence
7 St. Joseph's
8 Gonzaga
9 Manhattan
Women's Tournament
1 Notre Dame
2 Gonzaga/Dayton
4 DePaul
5 St. John's
6 St. Joseph's
7 Fordham
8 Marist
Enjoy sharing some background information on one or more of these Catholic colleges as a way to encourage your students to consider these continuing their Catholic education by attending a Catholic college. Here are some links to information your students may enjoy:
A Recent History of Catholic Colleges and NCAA Basketball
A list of all NCAA Men's NCAA Basketball Champions Note: There have been 8 Catholic colleges that have won the NCAA Championship. Villanova (1985) is the last champion.
A profile of the 1963 Loyola Chicago Ramblers, one of the first integrated NCAA champions
