This Sunday, the United States of America will stop, find the nearest TV, and watch as the Atlanta Falcons take on the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium in Houston for Super Bowl LI. Some will take pride in their city or teams’ success, others will be seeing former University of Michigan quarterback Tom Brady face off against Boston College’s alum Matt Ryan.
This map looks at which universities should take pride in their former players’ National Football League career. According to a report by CBS Sports, “The U” or University of Miami, has produced 117 appearances by alumni in the big game- making them the top university on the list! Following in the top 5 are the University of Southern California with 116; University of California, Los Angeles with 108; and a tie between University of Michigan and Penn State University with 104 appearances. The time range is from 1967 – Super Bowl I – to 2016.
This year’s match-up will feature 6 players from these 5 schools – either from main, reserve or practice squads – per the NCAA’s report. Based on the same report, the 5 universities that will be the most represented this Sunday are Alabama University (with 6 players), Stanford (5), Rutgers (5), Auburn (4), and Louisiana State University (4). Did your school make the map?
Background photo courtesy of Juan Salamanca, logos courtesy of University of Miami “The U,” University of South California Trojans, University of California Los Angeles Bruins, Penn State University, and University of Michigan.