The Final Four is the pinnacle of college basketball, and depending on the stature and expectations of the participating programs, it can feel like a step on the road to a national championship or a destination in itself.
This week; UW, Purdue, Alabama and North Carolina State come to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. We are grateful to have reached the biggest and most popular stage in our respective sports, while still dreaming of the Nursing Championship.
Getting this far in the NCAA Tournament is a tremendous accomplishment, and it took four wins over the best teams in the country to accomplish it. UConn has reached the Final Four two years in a row, but it won't be easy for him to recover this far. Look at the other three participants. This is the first time since 1983 that North Carolina State has advanced to the Final Four. For Purdue University, it took even longer, going back to 1980. The University of Alabama's appearance in the Final Four is the first for the program, which started in 1912.
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The Crimson Tide are the newcomers to the group, but this week in Arizona they will be able to make a statement that even their more decorated brethren cannot.
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Alabama accomplished the rare feat this school year in its two major revenue sports, basketball and football, by reaching the national semifinals in each sport in the same grade.
Three months ago, as the Crimson Tide basketball team prepared to face reigning national champion Yukon on Saturday night, the storied football team entered the College Football Playoff as the No. 4 seed. Once there, the Rose Bowl was legendary coach Nick Saban's final game on the Alabama sideline, where they defeated No. 1 seed and eventual national champion Michigan, 27-20 in overtime. I was defeated.
Only a small number of Division I schools have football or men's basketball programs that are good enough to compete for a national championship. Even fewer have both.
How unusual is what Alabama accomplished this year? Let's take a look:
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How many schools made it to the College Football Playoff and the Final Four in the same year?
While the University of Alabama's performance is impressive, it's not the first time two major programs have reached the national semifinals.
During the 2015-16 academic year, the University of Oklahoma's football program advanced to the College Football Playoff and the basketball program advanced to the Final Four.
The Sooners, who finished with an 11-1 record, were led by future Heisman Trophy winners Baker Mayfield and Bob Stoops, who were coaching in their penultimate season at the school. The team advanced to the College Football Playoff in its second season. The University of Oklahoma, which was the fourth seed in a four-team field, lost to top-seeded Clemson 37-17 in the Orange Bowl on December 31, 2015.
Three months later, the Oklahoma State basketball team reached the Final Four for the fifth time in history and the first since 2002. National Player of the Year Buddy Hield averaged 29.3 points per game in the Sooners' first four games, finishing with a 8-for-37 performance. In his Elite Eight win over Oregon, he made 13 3-pointers. Oklahoma's rise ended in the national semifinals, where they lost 95-51 to eventual national champion Villanova, making it the closest game in Final Four history.
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How many schools have made it to both the College Football Playoff and the Final Four?
Since the College Football Playoff began at the end of the 2014 season, five schools have advanced to both the playoffs and the Final Four during that span.
Here is a list of schools that earned that honor:
- Alabama
- Oregon
- michigan
- oklahoma
- michigan
