Here’s a little bit of Olympian March Madness for you.
All 68 NCAA Tournament schools can say they’ve had an Olympian student. Some, such as Stanford and Florida, have had much more than others, such as Stephen F. Austin and Delaware.
Here’s how the bracket would look if each school was represented by its best Olympian:
(Click to enlarge image)
Preference was given to individual sports athletes in most cases to keep from the bracket being dominated by basketball and baseball players.
Tiring research led to find at least two schools with one Olympian -- Stephen F. Austin had Kylie Louw, a 2012 South African soccer player, and Delaware had Kimmie Meissner, a 2006 U.S. figure skater. It’s very possible that, in the 118 years of modern Games, other Olympians attended those institutions that we simply missed.
Creighton’s Olympian, Scott Servais, was a baseball player at Seoul 1988 when it was a demonstration sport.
There’s also the debate over Michael Phelps, who attended classes but did not pursue a degree from Michigan while his coach, Bob Bowman, worked there. He also never competed for the school, having already turned pro. Other athletes were chosen with similar circumstances.
Here were some of the tough choices:
Florida -- Ryan Lochte over fellow swimmer Dara Torres.
Arizona -- Amanda Beard over fellow swimmer Amy Van Dyken.
Duke -- Nancy Hogshead over Japanese equestrian rider Hiroshi Hoketsu, 72, who competed in the 1964, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Michigan State -- Ryan Miller over Magic Johnson.
Cincinnati -- Oscar Robertson over 2008 Olympic 110m hurdles silver medalist David Payne.
North Carolina -- Michael Jordan over soccer star Mia Hamm and hurdler Allen Johnson.
Oregon -- Ashton Eaton over immensely popular 1970s distance runner Steve Prefontaine, who finished fourth in his only Olympic race.
Nebraska -- Rulon Gardner over fellow wrestler Jordan Burroughs.
Eric Heiden -- He went to Wisconsin and Stanford, but was slotted as a Badger to keep two-time Olympic decathlon champion Bob Mathias in for the Cardinal.
Here’s the complete list of Olympians, region by region:
SOUTH
1. Florida -- Ryan Lochte, Swimming
2. Kansas -- Al Oerter, Track and Field
3. Syracuse -- Meyer Prinstein, Track and Field
4. UCLA -- Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Track and Field
5. Virginia Commonwealth -- Yann Bonato, Basketball
6. Ohio State -- Jesse Owens, Track and Field
7. New Mexico -- Luc Longley, Basketball
8. Colorado -- Bill Toomey, Track and Field
9. Pittsburgh -- Roger Kingdom, Track and Field
10. Stanford -- Bob Mathias, Track and Field
11. Dayton -- Mike Sylvester, Basketball
12. Stephen F. Austin -- Kylie Louw, Soccer
13. Tulsa -- Todd Hays, Bobsled
14. Western Michigan -- Bill Porter, Track and Field
15. Eastern Kentucky -- Jackie Humphrey, Track and Field
16. Albany -- Shawn Sheldon, Wrestling
16. Mount Saint Mary’s -- Peter Rono, Track and Field
WEST
1. Arizona -- Amanda Beard, Swimming
2. Wisconsin -- Eric Heiden, Speed Skating
3. Creighton -- Scott Servais, Baseball
4. San Diego State -- Chris Marlowe, Volleyball
5. Oklahoma -- Bart Conner, Gymnastics
6. Baylor -- Michael Johnson, Track and Field
7. Oregon -- Ashton Eaton, Track and Field
8. Gonzaga -- John Stockton, Basketball
9. Oklahoma State -- John Smith, Wrestling
10. Brigham Young -- Frankie Fredericks, Track and Field
11. Nebraska -- Rulon Gardner, Wrestling
12. North Dakota State -- Amanda Smock, Track and Field
13. New Mexico State -- Chito Reyes, Basketball
14. Louisiana-Lafayette -- Hollis Conway, Track and Field
15. American -- Sergio Lopez Miro, Swimming
16. Weber State -- Bill Schuffenhauer, Bobsled
EAST
1. Virginia -- Dawn Staley, Basketball
2. Villanova -- Don Bragg, Track and Field
3. Iowa State -- Dan Gable, Wrestling
4. Michigan State -- Ryan Miller, Hockey
5. Cincinnati -- Oscar Robertson, Basketball
6. North Carolina -- Michael Jordan, Basketball
7. Connecticut -- Diana Taurasi, Basketball
8. Memphis -- Penny Hardaway, Basketball
9. George Washington -- Elana Meyers, Bobsled
10. St. Joseph’s -- Mike Teti, Rowing
11. Providence -- Cammi Granato, Hockey
12. Harvard -- Dick Button, Figure Skating
13. Delaware -- Kimmie Meissner, Figure Skating
14. North Carolina Central -- Lee Calhoun, Track and Field
15. Wisconsin-Milwaukee -- Mitchell Whitmore, Speed Skating
16. Coastal Carolina -- Amber Campbell, Track and Field
MIDWEST
1. Wichita State -- Braden Looper, Baseball
2. Michigan -- Michael Phelps, Swimming
3. Duke -- Nancy Hogshead, Swimming
4. Louisville -- Angel McCoughtry, Basketball
5. St. Louis --- Dick Boushka, Basketball
6. Massachusetts -- Briana Scurry, Soccer
7. Texas -- Mary Lou Retton, Texas
8. Kentucky -- Alex Groza, Basketball
9. Kansas State -- Thane Baker, Track and Field
10. Arizona State -- Amanda Borden, Gymnastics
11. Iowa -- Tom Brands, Wrestling
11. Tennessee -- Justin Gatlin, Track and Field
12. North Carolina State -- Joan Benoit, Track and Field
12. Xavier -- Jason Parker, Shooting
13. Manhattan -- Lindy Remigino, Track and Field
14. Mercer -- Cindy Brogdon, Basketball
15. Wofford -- Mike Lenzly, Basketball
16. Cal Poly -- Stephanie Brown Trafton, Track and Field
16. Texas Southern -- Jim Hines, Track and Field