joelunardi

There are a lot of Bracketologists out there, but the Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Galileo Galilei of the field is ESPN's Joe Lunardi.  Last year Lunardi correctly predicted all 68 teams that would be selected for the NCAA Tournament and he's built an impressive reputation as the master of breaking down the brackets and what the selection committee is looking for.

Now, you can be the next Joe Lunardi.

That is, if you're a student at St. Joseph's University.

"Fundamentals of Bracketology" is a real online course that is instructed each year by Lunardi.  In the course description, students are tasked with identifying rules that guide the selection process, analyze the way schools try to position themselves to be in the best shape for selection into the tournament, and yes – make a mock bracket!  Here's the full description:

Once a year, Saint Joseph’ University offers an online course which provides a firm understanding of the principles of "bracketology" as applied to Division I college basketball and the NCAA® men's basketball championship. The course is taught by Saint Joseph’s own Joe Lunardi ’82, a college basketball analyst for ESPN and best known for creating bracketology, defined as the "art and science" of forecasting teams that will be selected for the annual NCAA men's basketball championship.

The course includes a history of the NCAA Tournament ("March Madness®"), the team selection and seeding process, and the analysis undertaken by individual schools/conferences to position themselves for NCAA championship participation. Students will conduct a realistic mock bracket as the final exam.  

The class is listed as not-for-credit, so sorry to everyone looking to attend Saint Joseph's and using this class to finish off your college degree.  In case you're wondering about Lunardi's connections to St. Joseph's, he's not just a graduate.  He also currently works at St. Joe's as the Assistant Vice President for Marketing Communications.

When Joe Lunardi puts together an insanely accurate bracket once again this year, just keep in mind that being the best bracketologist in the world isn't his actual day job.

H/T Hot Clicks

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