Anyone who loves a great underdog story has a rooting interest in Northwestern University athletics.
For years, the Wildcats football team had been the Big Ten’s doormat until its incredible Cinderella 1995 season ended in a conference title and Rose Bowl berth for the first time since 1949.
In 2017, the Northwestern men’s basketball team finally ended a drought, securing the program’s first-ever berth in the NCAA tournament (began in 1939).
The eighth-seeded Wildcats meet No. 9 Vanderbilt on Thursday afternoon in a West Region game played in Salt Lake City. Northwestern is coached by Chris Collins, son of ESPN NBA analyst Doug Collins.
Many ESPN commentators bleed Wildcat purple because they are alumni. Front Row asked some of the most fervent among them one question:
“What would you give to read Northwestern’s first NCAA game highlight on SportsCenter?”