On Sunday, January 22, two top football teams met in Atlanta to punch their tickets to Houston for the Super Bowl. The Atlanta Falcons annihilated the Green Bay Packers by a score of 44-21, bolstered by a huge performance by Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, who put up 392 yards and 4 touchdowns. Ryan, the Most Valuable Player for the 2016 NFL season, is just one of many great Jesuit-educated athletes contributing in a major way to today’s professional sports landscape.

Luke Kuechly, another Boston College graduate and first round draft pick in 2012, is an NFL star for the Carolina Panthers. This past year, although removed from a number of games in the league’s concussion protocol structure, Kuechly captained the team’s formidable defense and collected 102 total tackles with one interception.

Although strongly represented in the NFL, Jesuit athletes don’t just contribute to professional football. Marquette has produced two NBA stars in Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade of the Chicago Bulls; together they have combined for fifteen all-star game appearances. Jae Crowder, another Marquette grad, starts as a small forward for the Boston Celtics. Cleveland Cavaliers sharpshooter Kyle Korver is a graduate of Creighton, while fellow Creighton graduate Doug McDermott contributes to the Bulls as a solid backup for starting small forward Jimmy Butler.

In hockey, Cory Schneider of Boston College starts as goaltender for the New Jersey Devils of the NHL, while fellow BC grad Johnny Gaudreau is a goalscorer for the Calgary Flames.

Although these are just a few names of merit across professional sports, it’s inspiring to see so many that walked the halls of Jesuit institutions.