Good morning, and thanks for spending part of your day with Extra Points.
There are over 1,200 current or former NCAA athletes competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics this year, representing 125 different countries.
Much has been written about how critical the NCAA system has been for developing a strong Olympic Pipeline for a variety of sports, from Track to Swimming to Gymnastics and beyond. That system isn’t just critical for developing athletes that go on to compete for Team USA…but for countries all over the world.
How well do YOU know the college athletes participating in the Olympics? To test some assumptions and have a #little #fun this morning, I built a little quiz, based off the data the NCAA provided. The answers will be at the bottom of the email. NO CHEATING. You know how the IOC feels about cheating. It’s only okay sometimes.
Let’s start here…it isn’t just the Big Ten and Ivy League that sends athletes to the Olympics, after all:
Which DIII School has the most athletes competing in the Olympics?
Which DII School has the most athletes competing in the Olympics?
Now, let’s take a look at where these athletes are competing.
Many college athletes are competing for team USA or Canada...but not all of them!
Outside of Track and Swimming, the NCAA says that BASKETBALL has the most current or former NCAA athletes
And finally, let’s drop in a few bragging rights type questions:
The NCAA says 251 schools are represented in these Olympics.
Now that the last conference realignment round is official, which conference has the most Olympians?
The P4 leagues and the Ivy League tend to dominate the Olympic lists.
What school has the most affiliated athletes competing in basketball?
What school has the most WOMEN Olympic athletes?
And finally, a little #fun question:
The nation of Mongolia has just one college athlete Olympian.
Before we get to the answers, a brief word from our sponsors….me!
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Okay. HERE ARE THE QUIZ ANSWERS:
1) According to the NCAA database, Chicago has two Olympians. Everybody else only has one.
2) Simon Fraser has four Olympians, with three of them competing in Women’s Wrestling. The next best DIII program has just three.
3) It’s Nigeria, with 38 athletes, fourth most in the world. The majority of them are track athletes.
4) According to the NCAA, the answer is Germany, with 15. Six men, nine women.
5) I would have guessed Stanford, but apparently the answer is actually Big Ten stalwart USC.
6) Yup, it’s the Big Ten.
7) The answer is Hawaii, with 10.
8.) Kentucky has nine. Oregon and UConn have eight.
9) Okay THIS one is Stanford.
10) That would be Enkhkhuslen Batbayar, a swimmer.
Now, you know what to do. Time to tell everybody on social media how well you did on this quiz and brag about how smart you are.
Okay last question I promise:
