I’ve just returned from an annual student affairs conference and on my flight back Tuesday night, nearly every row had someone who was pouring over their brackets – checking and rechecking their picks.

In the annual Clifford family showdown, my kids have been paying a little too much attention to the prognosticators and changing their minds about how it will all play out. When we first started the bracket challenge in our house, one of our girls picked based on the funniest mascot, while another always picked the best seed. Of course, when Davidson College is in the tournament, they always pick them to be national champions like good future Wildcats!

I know predictions have had a tough go of it recently, but I think we’ve found a really solid methodology that will be sure to give you a perfect bracket! In O∆K and on the court, leadership matters! Here are the rules for the O∆K bracket:

1. If one school has a circle and then other does not, the school with the circle wins.

2. If both schools have a circle, the circle with the oldest circle wins.

3. If neither school has a circle, the higher seed wins.

You can see my official O∆K bracket below. It’s going to be an exciting championship game, with the winner decided by a matter of days in May 1925, when both Virginia and Kentucky were chartered!

Enjoy the tournament, and remember those students in your circle who exemplified the athletics phase of leadership that we honor every day in O∆K.

odkbracket2017