Super Bowl Schools: Which College Programs Are Best Represented on Chiefs, 49ers Rosters
The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will face off in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, Feb. 11. The two rosters—including practice squads and injured reserve lists—are comprised of 163 total players. In turn, those players represent 92 different NCAA-affiliated college football programs, with FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III programs all represented.
After compiling the full list of schools represented by the Chiefs and 49ers, one program stands above the rest: Oklahoma.
Four former Sooners are on Kansas City’s roster: tight end Blake Bell, offensive linemen Creed Humphrey and Wanya Morris and long snapper James Winchester. Meanwhile, San Francisco employs Trent Williams, one of the NFL’s top offensive tackles, who will play in his first Super Bowl after making 11 Pro Bowls. He’s joined by tight end Brayden Willis.
Oklahoma is one of 37 NCAA programs with multiple players on Super Bowl rosters. 26 programs have at least one player on each team.
Interestingly, some of the schools toward the top of the list are stacked on just one roster. The Chiefs employ all five Florida Gators, Kentucky Wildcats and Missouri Tigers involved in the game. The 49ers, meanwhile, have all three Oregon Ducks, both Arkansas Razorbacks and the two Ohio State Buckeyes.
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Unsurprisingly, the rosters are dominated by power conference players. Using the teams’ 2024 conference affiliation, 111 of the 163 players finished their careers at Power 4 programs. Of them, the SEC led the way with 39 players, followed by the Big Ten (33), ACC (20) and Big 12 (19).
San Francisco 49ers lineman Trent Williams headlines the six players representing Oklahoma in Super Bowl LVIII.
Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports
The Group of 5 is represented by 26 players, with the AAC leading the way with seven. The MAC has six players on the two rosters, followed by Conference USA (five), the Mountain West and Sun Belt (four each).
Independent Notre Dame has two players, while Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson, a Washington State alumnus, is the lone flag waiver for what remains of the Pac-12.
The FCS has 13 players on the rosters, with Harvard landing one player on each roster—the only non-FBS program with multiple players listed. Six Division II players and one D-III player round out the NCAA schools.
Finally, three players joined the teams from the NFL’s international pathway program. Chiefs offensive tackle Chukwuebuka Godrick joined the team this offseason. The Nigerian lineman played his first organized football ever in the preseason. The 49ers have a pair of Mexican players: offensive linemen Alfredo Gutiérrez and Isaac Alarcón, who both played college football at Tecnológico de Monterrey.
