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Presidents and the P5 conferences

Barber Shop Talk
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  • The GipperT The Gipper wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Since Today is George Washington's Birthday and this is President's day Week  I am putting on here the  list of President's that attended any Power 5 conference school.  There are not that many really:

    Duke Law:   Nixon

    Georgia Tech:  Carter

    Stanford:  Hoover, and Kennedy for grad school

    Michigan:  Ford

    North Carolina:  Polk

    Univ. of Virginia  Law:   Wilson   (and note:  Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia...so credit has to be given there)

    To my knowledge, only Gerald Ford played any kind of major varsity sports at these schools.  He was a center....and played in the East West Shrine Game. 

    He graduated in 1935....one year before the NFL draft was instituted, so he, nor anyone else of his era was drafted. But...he was given contract offers to play for both the Bears and the Packers.  He turned these offers down in order to attend Law School at Yale.

  • The GipperT The Gipper wrote on last edited by
    #2

    Besides the borderline All American Gerald Ford, a few other Presidents made a bit of a name in sports...if at a lower level:

    Nixon played small college football at Whittier college

    Woodrow Wilson played baseball for Davidson

    John F. Kennedy lettered in swimming at Harvard

    Poppy Bush was an oustanding first baseman for Yale. Could have probably gotten a pro contract except for the War...and his desire to go into the oil business

    Eisenhower played football for Army, and butted heads with the likes of Jim Thorpe and Knute Rockne.

  • mjp28M mjp28 wrote on last edited by
    #3

    I think most of them were there before they were referred to as P5 conferences.......but still interesting. 

    You would think future presidents would have attended more prestigious colleges, and not many jocks!

  • I think most of them were there before they were referred to as P5 conferences.......but still interesting. 

    You would think future presidents would have attended more prestigious colleges, and not many jocks!

    The GipperT The Gipper wrote on last edited by
    #4

    @mjp28 said:

    I think most of them were there before they were referred to as P5 conferences.......but still interesting. 

    Well...yes, of course.  the conferences were there when Nixon, Carter, Ford Hoover went there (ACC, Big Ten, Pac 8)... but not Polk

    You would think future presidents would have attended more prestigious colleges, and not many jocks!

    Well...they did actually.  Presidents have attended Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Amherst, Williams, Kenyon, Georgetown, Bowdoin and others.

    FYI:   Colleges in Ohio attended by POTUS:    Kenyon, Hiram, Mt. Union,  Ohio Central College nka Muskingam, Miami Oh., Cincinnati Law school.

  • @mjp28 said:

    I think most of them were there before they were referred to as P5 conferences.......but still interesting. 

    Well...yes, of course.  the conferences were there when Nixon, Carter, Ford Hoover went there (ACC, Big Ten, Pac 8)... but not Polk

    You would think future presidents would have attended more prestigious colleges, and not many jocks!

    Well...they did actually.  Presidents have attended Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Amherst, Williams, Kenyon, Georgetown, Bowdoin and others.

    FYI:   Colleges in Ohio attended by POTUS:    Kenyon, Hiram, Mt. Union,  Ohio Central College nka Muskingam, Miami Oh., Cincinnati Law school.

    mjp28M mjp28 wrote on last edited by
    #5

    @the-gipper said:

    Yes I was going to say well known instead of prestigious, no doubt the ivy league and other east coast schools are indeed prestigious. 

  • T TexasAg1969 wrote on last edited by
    #6

    Reagan played football for Notre Dame in his Gipper persona.🙄

  • Reagan played football for Notre Dame in his Gipper persona.🙄

    The GipperT The Gipper wrote on last edited by The Gipper
    #7

    @texasag1969 said:

    Reagan played football for Notre Dame in his Gipper persona.🙄

    Sure....then so did I. He may have played for Eureka college where he attended.  Not sure about that I saw nothing to that effect.