With commencement ceremonies taking place in some form all over the country this weekend, we decided to look at some notable college campuses that had quite the array of athletes and personalities inside their athletic departments at the same time. From the hardwood to various playing fields, these universities served as the homes to kids who turned out to be household names.
While Bobby Knight’s team was being led by future NBA players Quinn Buckner and Scott May, there was also an incoming freshman who never wound up playing because he felt out of place in Bloomington, and left. His name was Larry Bird.
Back then, Dean Smith was about to embark on a season that would lead to a national championship with a roster that included James Worthy, Sam Perkins, and some freshman named “Mike Jordan.” The football team wasn’t doing too bad either, as they were being led by the greatest linebacker of all time, Lawrence Taylor, who was a first-round pick of the Giants that spring.
While the University of Houston may not be considered an athletic powerhouse like some of the other schools on this list, it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t had its moments. Because while the Cougars’ “Phi Slama Jama” basketball team was being led by Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, Carl Lewis was on the track team preparing to become one of the greatest Olympians of all time. And the baseball team? They had Doug Drabek, who would go on to win the NL Cy Young Award nine years later.
From 1982-84 folks down in Alabama were spoiled. Because they had two of the most-jaw dropping athletes sports have ever seen walking around their campus screaming “War Eagle!” Charles Barkley and Bo Jackson had basketball, baseball, football, and track all covered, as Jackson played three sports in college before going on to become the best two-sport athlete of all-time as he dominated the NFL and the Major Leagues.
You could make the argument that in the calendar year of 1992, Ann Arbor, Mich., was the coolest place on Earth. Desmond Howard won the Heisman Trophy that year, while also becoming the face of the award due to striking the pose in the end zone after returning a punt against Ohio State. Over at Crisler Arena, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, and Chris Webber were about to change sports forever as the Fab Five, forcing Kobe Bryant’s future agent and eventual Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka to the bench. All the while some kid from Kalamazoo named Derek Jeter was taking classes during his offseason.
Knoxville was a good place to be in the mid-’90s, as its football, women’s basketball and baseball teams were full of pros. Pat Summitt coached Nikki McCray and Chamique Holdsclaw that year, while Phillip Fulmer’s football team included Peyton Manning, James Stewart and Tee Martin. Todd Helton and 2012 Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey were playing baseball, and 2000 Olympic silver medal pole vaulter Lawrence Johnson was leading the track and field program.
Storrs was the center of the college basketball world back then, as the men’s and women’s program won national championships in a span of 72 hours. Diana Taurasi won her third consecutive national title, while the men’s team was led by Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva. Rudy Gay would arrive a few months later.
Before Nick Saban was the man in Alabama, he won his first national championship in Baton Rouge with the Tigers. That year a slew of talent like
Jamarcus Russell, Joseph Addai, Dwayne Bowe, Marcus Spears, LaRon Landry, Matt Flynn, and Glenn Dorsey played in Death Valley. The basketball team was led by future NBAers Brandon Bass and Glen “Big Baby” Davis, while hurdler Lolo Jones was the latest track star.
UT-Austin has one of the largest enrollments in the country, which is why talent has never been an issue there. However, in 2006 they had something different with two generational talents in football and basketball with Kevin Durant and Vince Young. And while Durant only stuck around for a season, football fans were able to enjoy the likes of Young, Colt McCoy, Jamaal Charles, Brian Orakpo, Aaron Ross, and Jermichael Finley during those 12 months.
Florida’s campus was a movie in 2007 as the basketball team won their second consecutive national championship, while the football team was claiming the program’s first since 1996. Urban Meyer led a team that featured Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, Riley Cooper, Aaron Hernandez, Louis Murphy, Percy Harvin, the Pouncey Twins, Brandon Spikes, Carlos Dunlap, and Joe Haden, while future head coaches like Dan Mullen and Charlie Strong served as assistant coaches.
Billy Donovan’s basketball team featured the likes of eight future NBA players in Taurean Green, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Chris Richard, Marreese Speights, Nick Calathes, and Chandler Parsons.
Ryan Lochte was a star on the swim team. Billy Horschel was playing golf. And Matt LaPorta was busy playing baseball before he headed to the Major Leagues.