Craig Caswell has just completed an accomplishment that took him 21 years.
“I’ve seen every single team in Division I NCAA men's basketball,” said Craig Caswell, who lives in Ohio.
There are currently 363 teams and Caswell has seen them all in person, as he’s documented in a spreadsheet to keep track of the accomplishment.
“The last game to complete the quest was the Lehigh Mountain Hawks at the American Eagles at American University in Washington D.C.,” he said.
Why the 21-year quest to complete such a feat?
“Growing up, I always loved sports,” he said. “About my junior year, I started to wonder, well, what does college basketball look like outside of my little corner of Northwest Ohio?”
His wife has joined him on many of his travels. Many of their vacations have been focused around basketball games.
“It started out where she could care less about the game and she might bring a book or do something else, but now she really gets into it,” he said.
And over the years, Caswell has built up quite the collection, too.
“My wardrobe is largely comprised of apparel from various Division I athletic institutions,” he said.
Caswell has attended more than 440 games. He said he loved learning about each school's unique traditions and elements.
“I truly and honestly love the entire mismatched mosaic that comprises D1. There really is no common thread that ties every Division I institution together beyond the fact that they offer a certain number of sports,” Caswell said.
“Everybody has a unique story to tell about their sports fandom, and I’m proud to say that I think mine is among the most unique, and I’ve enjoyed that,” he said.
When we asked him about his March Madness bracket this year, Caswell said he’s going with Alabama to win it all. He noted he’s only ever won his office bracket pool once in all of his years of doing this.
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