The Elite 8 of College Basketball Celebrity Alumni

With Selection Sunday just days away, we at Bleacher Report decided to form our own selection committee. But instead of examining strength of schedule and wins and losses, we're seeding schools based on their most famous alumni.

From our initial field of more than 50 likely NCAA tournament teams, we've narrowed the list down to an Elite Eight of schools with five stunning celebrity alums. These rosters are chock full of former presidents, pop stars and tech entrepreneurs. And although each of these squads is probably lacking in on-court talent, it has its own ways of capturing our attention. 

8. Duke

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• Mike Posner
• Richard Nixon
• Ken Jeong
• Adam Silver
• Tim Cook

This is perhaps the most eclectic roster among the top eight. There’s a league commissioner (Adam Silver), a CEO (Tim Cook), an actor (Ken Jeong), a pop star (Mike Posner) and a president (Richard Nixon). If nothing else, it would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall during their pregame dinner conversations. —David Gardner

7. Syracuse

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• Bob Costas
• Aaron Sorkin
• Joe Biden
• Megyn Kelly
• Vanessa Williams

You could run a national special with the political debate hypothetically happening on the Orange sideline: Post-White House Joe Biden (hopefully with ice cream in hand), faux White House creator Aaron Sorkin and White House-targeting pundit Megyn Kelly all studied at Syracuse. Bob Costas could moderate (as long as he doesn't have conjunctivitis), while Vanessa Williams could soothe the political tensions with some of her too-often-forgotten songs. —Natalie Weiner

6. Michigan

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• James Earl Jones
• Derek Jeter
• Tom Brady
• Michael Phelps
• Madonna

Although Michigan is the No. 6 seed, it could be the best actual basketball team of the lot. Tom Brady, Michael Phelps (who took a few classes while volunteering as an assistant swimming coach) and Derek Jeter (who dropped out after one semester to pursue his Yankees career) may no longer be in the prime of their athletic lives, but they still seem like a pretty formidable three-man roster. Add in James Earl Jones doing play-by-play and Madonna as the halftime performer, and I'm buying tickets. —D.G.

5. Arizona

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• Bob Dole
• Nicole Richie
• Kourtney Kardashian
• Kristen Wiig
• Geraldo Rivera

What do these five Wildcats have in common? Not much, as it turns out. While Kourtney Kardashian and Nicole Richie attended together in the late '90s, they probably didn't cross paths with superstar Saturday Night Live alum Kristen Wiig or notoriously shirtless Fox pundit Geraldo Rivera. Rivera could chop it up politically with former presidential candidate Bob Dole, though, and who knows? They might even help come up with a fair and balanced game plan. —N.W.

4. Princeton

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• Ralph Nader
• David Duchovny
• Michelle Obama
• Jeff Bezos
• Brooke Shields

The wealthiest roster—Jeff Bezos is worth north of $70 billion—checks in as our No. 4 seed. And although Brooke Shields, David Duchovny and Ralph Nader are all plenty famous, let's face it: This list is all about Bezos and our beloved former first lady, Michelle Obama. —D.G.

3. Northwestern

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• Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Jerry Springer
• Stephen Colbert
• Pharrell Williams
• Seth Meyers

The Wildcats certainly don't lack for emcees on their alumni roster, with Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jerry Springer all earning a spot in the starting lineup. Julia Louis-Dreyfus gets bonus points because her son, Charlie Hall, is actually on the basketball team (he's a freshman). Pharrell also gets bonus points because, well, even if he dropped out after two years, he still produced "Grindin'." —N.W.

2. USC

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• Steven Spielberg
• George Lucas
• Will Ferrell 
• O.J. Simpson
• Forest Whitaker

It should be no surprise that the L.A.-area schools have produced the most famous alumni squads. Although Spielberg did not actually attend USC—he was rejected three times—he did earn an honorary degree in 1994 because of his fondness for the school. Spielberg and Lucas are two of the most acclaimed directors in the world, Forest Whitaker is an Academy Award winner, and Will Ferrell is a national treasure. He even has some hoops experience. O.J. Simpson rounds out the roster as perhaps the most infamous man in America. —D.G.

1. UCLA

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• Mila Kunis
• Nicolas Cage
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• George Takei
• James Franco

With Hollywood just a hop, skip and a jump away from campus, UCLA's celebrity bench is enviably deep—one might even say the school's starting five is filled with National Treasures (sorry). Although Kunis and Franco both had shortened stays at UCLA, they round out an impressive roster with versatile actor Nicolas Cage, Trekkie-turned-Facebook pundit George Takei and socially active basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (back when he was Lew Alcindor). The Bruins easily take the top spot. —N.W.