March Madness is upon us. If you're a college basketball fan, you already know the names and histories of the Catholic teams who've made it to the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament this year. For those new to the annual frenzy of elimination games and closely scrutinized bracket seedings, here's a peak at the teams from Catholic schools who will start playing this week.
If you're really new to this, you might wonder how any school gets to the tournament, which is fondly known as the "Big Dance." Teams' seasonal and conference records are considered, with conference champions receiving automatic bids to the tournament. Most teams are chosen by the selection committee, which develops a bracket of 60 teams seeded by strength (from 16, lowest, to 1, highest) in four regional divisions: East, South, West, and Midwest. (The regions are named for where the tournament games will be played, not necessarily the schools' geographic location.) The committee issues invitations to the selected teams, as well as to 8 others whose records weren't quite strong enough to make the initial bracket. These 8 teams play the First Four games (today and tomorrow) to grab one of the empty spots in the Round of 64.
The Catholic contenders
All of this year's 7 Catholic teams made it to the initial bracket. They represent institutions of higher education founded and run by Jesuits, Vincentians, Christian Brothers, Augustinians, and Franciscans. Many have storied histories as men's basketball powerhouses, though only one of this year's Catholic contenders has ever claimed the championship.
Here's a peek (in alphabetical order) at the teams representing Catholic higher education at this year's Big Dance:
Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington
Seeded highest as #3 in the West Region, Gonzaga's Bulldogs (also known as the Zags) have participated in every NCAA Men's Tournament since 1999, making the Final Four and finishing as runner-up in both 2017 and 2021. Gonzaga is a Jesuit university named for St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a Jesuit who is the patron of young people. Gonzaga's best known attendee (he left before completing a degree) is Bing Crosby, though he played baseball, not basketball. Gonzaga is home to a museum of Crosby's acting and music career.
St. John's University, Queens, New York
Founded by the Congregation of the Missions (Vincentians) and originally named for St. John the Baptist, St. John's has graduated a long list of elected officials and legal scholars, as well as the fictional Ray Romano of Everybody Loves Raymond. The Red Storm (once known as the Redmen) is making its 32nd appearance in the NCAA tournament, seeded #5 in the East Region. Having twice made it to the Final Four, St. John's highest finish came in back in 1952, when the Redmen were runners-up for the championship.
Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri
The oldest university west of the Mississippi River, Saint Louis was founded by Bishop Louis DuBourg in 1818. The first classes were taught by Vincentians, but the Jesuits soon took over the university. The Billikens are named for the school's mascot -- a mysterious kewpie-like good luck icon first drawn in 1900 -- and are playing in their 11th NCAA tournament this year, having advanced as far as the Elite Eight back in 1952. They're seeded #9 in the Midwest Region. In another sport, it was an SLU football player who threw the game's first forward pass.
St. Mary's College, Moraga, California
The Gaels of St. Mary's, seeded #7 in the South Region, are playing in their 14th Big Dance. Their highest placement was among the Elite Eight in 1959. Founded by San Francisco's first bishop, Joseph Alemany, and staffed by the Christian Brothers, St. Mary's had as its founding mission “the instruction of the youth of California, not in literature merely, but what is greater, in true Christian knowledge." Academy Award winning writer and director Ryan Coogler (Sinners) attended St. Mary's, and credits his college creative writing professor for his success:
I’m standing here in front of you guys because an English professor, a creative writing professor at Saint Mary’s College named Rosemary Graham, read something that I wrote.
Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California
Founded by Jesuits on El Camino Real, the highway trod by the California Franciscan missionaries, Santa Clara University now sits at the center of Silicon Valley. In the words of the school's first president, its task was "to cultivate the heart, to form and cherish good habits, to prevent and eradicate evil ones." Named in Spanish for St. Clare, it was the first Catholic coeducational university in California. Santa Clara's Broncos, seeded #10 in the Midwest Region, are playing in their 12th NCAA Tournament. They made it to the Final Four in their first season in 1952, but that's been their highest placement.
Siena University, Loudonville, New York
The Saints of Siena are ranked #16 in the East Region. This is their 7th tournament, and they are looking to advance beyond their best finish in the Round of 32. Siena was founded by Franciscans in 1937 and is named for the Franciscan preacher St. Bernadine of Siena, who was famous for "bonfires of the vanities" into which wealthy Catholics tossed their valuables as a sign of renewed faith. Siena's three schools of business, liberal arts, and science offer undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania
Founded by Augustinian Friars and named for St. Thomas of Villanova, a Spanish bishop and writer famed for his care for the poor, Villanova is the first contender in the history of the Big Dance to claim the Pope as an alumnus. Leo XIV, then Robert Prevost, earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova in 1977, joining the Order of St. Augustine that same year. Villanova's Wildcats, seeded #8 in the West Region, are the only team in this year's Catholic crop to have won the championship, not once but 3 times -- in 1985, 2016, and 2018 -- in their 39 trips to the tournament.
We wish all the schools representing the gifts of Catholic higher education a great, safe, memorable NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament!
