2013 NCAA Tournament: Barack Obama Should Have Shown Alma Mater Harvard Some Love

By Chris Katje
Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

For just the 17th time in the NCAA Tournament, a No. 14 seed won in the opening round. Harvard also won for the first time in the school’s postseason history. Why then was Harvard not selected on the bracket of notable alumnus President Barack Obama?

Harvard was selected on a marginally thin 5.6% of ESPN Tournament Challenge Brackets. However, Barack Obama’s bracket was not one of them. Harvard was a long shot, as they had never won a postseason game and also were missing several key players throughout the year. Perhaps Obama left his alma mater off because of their 0-2 record in the NCAA Tournament.

When Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States, Harvard honored their alumnus. Dean Elena Kagan had this to say at the time, “On this historic day, the Harvard Law School community is proud of its extraordinary alumnus, President-elect Barack Obama ’91.”

Obama owes a lot to Harvard and should have picked them to win. As a 28 year old, Obama attended Harvard Law School. Obama became the first African-American president of Harvard Law Review, breaking racial barriers back in his university days. After a short period as a lawyer, Obama became an Illinois state senator (1996) and United States senator (2004). Obama would then go on to become the second Harvard alumnus to be elected president of the United States.

What makes matters worse is Michelle Obama (Class of 1988) also attended Harvard. Would the First Lady have selected her alumni in her March Madness bracket. Michelle is the only First Lady to be an alumnus from Harvard.

My hat is off to Harvard University on their first NCAA Tournament win. I didn’t pick you to win in my bracket, but I’ve never been on your campus either. They say you should never pick your team to go too far and leave your heart out of your bracket. How hard would if have been for Obama to pick Harvard to win one game? If Rutherford B. Hayes would have selected a bracket, I bet he would have picked his alma mater Harvard.

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