This being an election year, it seems appropriate to recognize the NCAA member institutions named for presidents.

That list is smaller than one might think and is not at all contemporary. Only one NCAA member institution -- Truman State University, formerly known as Northeast Missouri State University -- is named for a president who served after Lincoln.

Not counting institutions that are named for locales that are named for presidents (for example, the University of Washington or the University of Nebraska, Lincoln), the list includes only 11 schools: Franklin Pierce College, George Washington University, James Madison University, Lincoln Memorial University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Truman State, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington and Lee University, Washington College (Maryland) and Washington University (Missouri).

Special recognition goes to the state of Texas, which features two institutions named for presidents of the republic of Texas: Sam Houston State University and (Mirabeau) Lamar University.