The Holy Huddle: The 2012 CaPC Hoops Tournament Update Weekend 1

Last updated on: March 20, 2012 at 10:56 am by Doug Hankins

The Holy Huddle: The 2012 CaPC Hoops Tournament Update Weekend 1 2012-03-20T10:56:27-06:00 Doug Hankins

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Each week in The Holy Huddle, Doug Hankins takes a look at the goings on of the sports world from a distinctly Christian perspective.

As we have come to expect, this past weekend of March Madness provided viewers with upsets, upstarts, and beat-downs and left us in eager anticipation for the Sweet 16 — the coming weekend when the 16 teams get whittled down to the Final 4 teams.

For our interests at CaPC, the past weekend also provided an honest look into religious higher education in America and our bracket got whittled down to the Elite 8 Theology Hoops teams.

Let’s review the rules of our tournament:

Wins in March Madness matter to our tournament. The further you go in one, the further you go in the other.
In the case of a tie (where both teams win or lose in the same March Madness round) the tie-breaker looks to reader comments and then to CaPC writer picks.
The goal of our bracket is to provide an opportunity for reflection on the nature of religious higher education in America.

Recapping the Past Weekend of March Madness:

As I mentioned in an elsewhere, several religious institutions played each other in the March Madness tournament.

Vanderbilt beat Harvard in the first round and lost to Wisconsin in the second round.
Iona lost to BYU, who lost to Marquette, who beat Murray State.
Lehigh beat Duke and then lost to Xavier, who beat Notre Dame
Davidson lost to Louisville.
Temple lost to South Florida.
Saint Louis beat Memphis and lost to Michigan State.
Georgetown beat Belmont and lost to North Carolina State, which also beat San Diego State.
Baylor beat South Dakota State and Colorado.
Creighton beat Alabama and lost to North Carolina.
Gonzaga beat West Virginia and lost to Ohio State, who also beat Loyola-Maryland.

Six things I take away from the first weekend:

Don’t call it a comeback. 10 religious higher education teams made it to the round of 32 (Baylor, Xavier, Lehigh, Saint Louis, Murray State, Marquette, Georgetown, Creighton, Gonzaga, and Vanderbilt). That means that roughly 1/3 of the best 32 teams in America have religious affiliation. Or to put it in national perspective — of the 345 Division 1 NCAA hoops teams in America, 10 of the top-level schools have religious affiliation. Want to know one of the reasons why the secularization thesis has been called into question in recent years? Look to March Madness.
Mainline Churches can’t rely on reputation in order to be relevant today. Just as 2-seed Duke (Methodist), who lost to 15-seed Lehigh. Duke played with expectations but failed to deliver. And as historian (and Baylor professor) Thomas Kidd has observed recently, “The American Methodists’ experience of decline is a cautionary tale for all churches, including conservative ones.” Are you listening Baylor? Don’t get too comfy in that top-15 spot. Keep fighting the good fight.
The fight for the soul of the American university comes down to the play of Baylor, Xavier, and Marquette — the lone religious teams in the tourney. Full disclosure, I am pulling for, and praying for, the Highlighters.
Mormonism is an emerging force in America, as Iona found out. BYU came back from a 25-point deficit to topple Iona in the first round playoff match. Catholicism may be able to throw numbers at it, as Marquette proved, but don’t sleep on Mormonism. Youtube ads and a GOP candidate symbolize this push for more legitimacy in the American religious ethos.
Is Greensboro, NC an epicenter for Christian life in America? This region featured four religious higher institutions in the opening rounds of March Madness, two Protestant (Duke, Lehigh) and two Catholic (Xavier, and Notre Dame). This is not likely as Greensboro’s church community is 80-ish% Protestant and 11% Catholic. Furthermore, only 47% of the town is religiously affiliated, well-below the 50% average for the USA. Waco, TX on the other hand…
Is Louisville, KY the epicenter for pluralism in America? This region featured two and a half religious higher institutions (Marquette, BYU, Murray State) and had its hometown team (Louisville) beat another religious higher institution (Davidson). After all, The Center for Interfaith Relations is located in Louisville and hosts a Festival of Faiths each year to celebrate pluralistic world-views.

Previous Post

March 20, 2012

God and Country Music: Gillian Welch’s Soul Journey

Next Post

March 21, 2012 Music at Mars Hill: The Shins Offer a Renewed Sense of Optimism

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz