NCAA Geography Game

This is an idea that I got from listening to the Dan Patrick Show today (I love radio on the Internet). Today on the show the host (wasn't Dan today) quizzed the producers on their knowledge of where some of the schools in the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament are located. Quick, where is Murray State? Where is Lehigh? As I listened to this I thought that it could be turned into a quick, fun classroom geography activity. Ask your students to find out where some of the lesser-known schools are located (city and state). Take it a step further and ask your students to research a few important facts about that school. If you need a list of all of the school participating in this year's tournament, Team Rankings has a free printable bracket (PDF). After the classroom activity is completed you can show students this Google Map of all of the schools.


View 2012 College Basketball Tournament in a larger map

Here's an NCAA math activity that I proposed last year.

Here's a TED Talk from the greatest men's college basketball coach ever, John Wooden. (Apologies to fans of Dean Smith, Bobby Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, and Jim Calhoun).