Getting To Know Your Private Schools

As commissioner of an annual March Madness pool, I like to entertain and make things fun for participants. But a secondary function of my job is education.


What is your IQ when it comes to identifying the locations of colleges in the United States? Do you know if it's a religious school or a progressive liberal arts institution?

Let's begin with a more specific question:
Where is Sam Houston State University located?

If you guessed Houston, you're wrong.
It's Huntsville.
See? You clearly need my help.

Today I'm going to introduce you to three private universities (that are probably sending men's teams to the tournament) and tell you how they got their names. Indulge my love of history for a few moments...

Baylor University
Location: Waco, Texas
Name Origin: The university is named after Robert Emmett Bledsoe (R.E.B.) Baylor, a Baptist leader, Congressman, lawyer, judge and veteran of The War of 1812. Shortly after converting to Baptism in 1839, he left Alabama to establish a school in Texas. R.E.B. was later appointed as a judge in the Republic of Texas and helped write the state constitution after annexation. He founded the university (1945) as well as many Baptist organizations. Please don't draw any conclusions from the facts that Baylor never married and died in a town called Gay Hill. He was a good Christian man.

Xavier University
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Name Origin: St. Francis Xavier was one of the seven founders of the Jesuit religious order in 1534. He grew up in Spain and eventually became chummy with St. Ignatius Loyola (another college namesake) while studying in Paris. In 1540, the Society of Jesus received papal approval, and the Catholic Church permitted the order to travel to Jerusalem and beyond to spread the Gospel. Xavier's charitable and evangelical work took him to Portugal, Mozambique, India, Japan and various islands in Southeast Asia. By the time he died on the island of Sancian (off the coast of China) in 1552, Xavier had definitely set the standard for missionary zeal. Can the Musketeers do the same for basketball excellence?
*Interesting note: Xavier has two mascots - D'Artagnan and The Blue Blob (pictured above).

Marquette University
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Name Origin: Like Xavier, Father Jacques Marquette was a Jesuit priest. However, this Frenchman set his missionary sights on Canada, or what was known then as New France. While stationed in Quebec and the Great Lakes area, he preached to Native Americans and learned the Algonquin and Huron languages. In 1673, Marquette accompanied Louis Jolliet on an expedition to map the Mississippi River (where they met the friendly Illini). They hoped that the river led to the Pacific Ocean, but discovered it flowed toward the Gulf of Mexico. Fearing hostile tribes with guns and the despicable Spanish, the explorers turned back before reaching the Mississippi's terminus. Marquette succumbed to dysentery over a year later.

Combined NCAA Men's Basketball Championships from these private institutions: 1
The Marquette Golden Eagles won it all in 1977.

But don't count private universities out in your brackets!
Syracuse won in 2003, and Villanova and Georgetown took home titles in the 80's.

Now...don't you feel smarter after reading this?