Name This University:
“The top ranked university in the world” *
The most #1 ranked graduate schools in the world *
– Law, Business, Medicine, Computer Science….
Most NCAA Championships (both team and individual titles)
Largest campus in the world
Alma Mater to Google, Nike, Tesla, Nvidia, Cisco, Schwab, Netflix, Hewlett Packard,
Yahoo, YouTube, Sun Microsystems, Instagram, Trader Joe’s, Victoria’s Secret …
totaling the world’s 10th largest economy
Awarded best and winningest sports program nearly every year
since 1994 inception of Sports Directors’ Cup
Repeatedly win more gold in Olympics than most continents,
finishing as high as 4th and recently 6th among countries
* Most often in recent years
Wall Street Journal – Times Higher Education; U.S. News & World Report
Fun Facts Quiz
A. ACADEMICS
1. Over the lifetime of today’s incoming college freshmen, which comprehensive university has been leading the country most frequently with the lowest acceptance rate, recently down to a record ____%? _____________ University
2. This same school rejects what percentage of applicants with perfect SAT scores? __%
3. Four of every five students admitted to _________ University elect to enroll there over every other school to which they were selected, repeatedly setting the highest “yield rate” in collegiate history (e.g., recently reaching as high as ___%).
4. “The top institution for producing Nobel Prize winners this century is __________ University.” Among just its current faculty (not including those throughout its history), this leading university has how many Nobel Prize winners? ___
5. “With an exceptional student-to-professor ratio of less than ___ to 1, Stanford emphasizes close interaction with faculty.” (Only research-intensive Cal Tech has a lower student to professor ratio).
6. The Wall Street Journal’s Times Higher Education’s inaugural ranking of U.S. universities – described by THE as a “pioneering” study, and unusually broad and student-centered, incorporating the voices of 100,000 students, measuring resources, engagement, outcomes and environment, and independently audited by PwC – declared __________ the #1 school in the country.
7. a. In this first-ever study, The Wall Street Journal ‘s “Times Higher Education” finding ranked ___________ the #1 university in the world in more major disciplines than any other school. ____ (How many, and can you name them?)
b. True or False: In fields such as engineering, no Ivy League school ranks higher than tenth, and neither Harvard nor Yale can be found among the top twenty. ___
8. Among the scheduled speakers for just one Stanford computer science course in Spring 2026 were NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella; Andreessen Horowitz Venture Capital co-founder Ben Horowitz; OpenAI co-founder and former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy; and Oculus co-founder and former CEO Brendan Iribe.
a. True or false? ___
b. How many other guest lecturers holding top positions at leading technology companies and institutions also appeared as speakers for that same course? ____
9. The likes of such academic distinctions have earned Stanford the self-anointed, self-deprecating nickname: ________ ___________
10. Academic leadership continues throughout Stanford graduate schools:
a. In fact, according to the heralded U.S. News and World Report rankings, Stanford has been named #1 at least once in how many of its graduate schools/programs? ____
Seven (7) of which are ranked #1 currently: Law School • Graduate School of Business • Computer Science • Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering • Accounting • Finance • Entrepreneurship
b. Moreover, of the 11 subject areas ranked by the Wall Street Journal in “Times Higher Education” in its first decade, only Stanford has already been ranked #1 in a majority thereof – in fact, ___ of the 11 subject areas: Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Computer Science, Education, Engineering, Law, Psychology, and Social Sciences.
11. Many of Stanford’s graduate programs admit only a fraction of the students of its rivals (e.g. Stanford Law School’s smaller entering class of only ____ (how many?) students is selectively (what fraction?) ____ that of Harvard), with SLS providing a much smaller, superior student/professor ratio (__/1 vs. Harvard’s 12/1).
12. Accordingly, the law school which for years has been sharing the U.S. News and World Report #1 ranking (with Yale Law School), and now retains the #1 ranking all to itself, is _______________. More impressive still, it is now again ranked #1 in the world by the Wall Street Journal’s Times Higher Education.
13. Financial Times has also ranked Stanford Graduate School of Business # 1 in the world. Furthermore, among those admitted to both Stanford Business School and Harvard Business School, Stanford is chosen more than ___ times over Harvard.
14. True or False re: Stanford Medical School:
The percentage of applicants admitted to Stanford Medical School is 1.4%. ___
In contrast to the likes of Harvard Medical School’s 13.3 to 1 student/faculty ratio, Stanford Med School provides an inverted student/faculty ratio of 1 to 5 ____
including 7 Nobel laureates on the faculty ___,
alongside Stanford Health Care–Stanford Hospital, which has also been repeatedly ranked #1 in the nation (i.e., Otolaryngology) by U.S. News & World Report ____
B. ECONOMIC SUCCESS
President Obama at the Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection Summit remarked:
“So here at Stanford, pioneers developed the protocols and architecture of the Internet, DSL, the first webpage in America, innovations for cloud computing. Student projects here became Yahoo and Google. Those were pretty good student projects. Your graduates have gone on to help create and build thousands of companies that have shaped our digital society — from Cisco to Sun Microsystems, YouTube to Instagram, StubHub, Bonobos. According to one study, if all the companies traced back to Stanford graduates formed their own nation, you’d be one the largest economies in the world, and have a pretty good football team as well.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/13/remarks-president-cybersecurity-and-consumer-protection-summit
15. The study, titled “Stanford University’s Economic Impact via Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” finds that Stanford would be the ___ ranked economy in the world,
80th
50th
30th
10th
creating _______ in revenue … annually.
112 billion
356 billion
789 billion
2.7 trillion
16. Stanford alumni have created and built 40,000 significant companies, including many of the most predominant, together providing how many jobs? ______
17. In 2025, just the top 30 companies founded by Stanford alumni had a combined market capitalization exceeding $___ trillion.
18. “Although Stanford is best known for its contributions to Silicon Valley, the university’s influence stretches beyond high technology to include automaker Tesla Motors, financial companies like Charles Schwab and widely recognized consumer brands like Gap, Nike, Netflix and Trader Joe’s,” President Obama continued. http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/october/innovation-economic-impact-102412.html
Other major companies that are Stanford-born and developed include: NVIDIA, Hewlett-Packard (HP), PayPal, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Snapchat, DoorDash, Victoria’s Secret, Electronic Arts (EA), Intuit, Dolby Laboratories, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Silicon Graphics, VMware and Juul. What other prominent companies can you add to the list? ______________________________________________________________________.
19. The unique and unrivaled symbiosis among ___________ University, Silicon Valley entrepreneurship, Sand Hill Road venture capital, and public research funding is “the stuff of legend” – having produced what MIT Press calls “the most powerful engine of innovation in the world” and “the most powerful economic engine in the world.”
20. True or False: In total endowments, Stanford is up to third and gaining fast on Harvard and Yale, which had a head start of 249 years and 167 years, respectively, on the newcomer of 1885.
C. NCAA ATHLETICS
21. Stanford has long led the nation in individual NCAA championship titles, amassing ___ individual NCAA titles; well over 100 titles more than any other university (___ individual collegiate championships overall).
22. The Stanford Cardinal have also won more NCAA team championships that any other school: a total of ____, and has been doing so at an accelerating rate.
23. At least one Stanford team has won an NCAA championship during each of the last _____ years. This ongoing streak is the longest in NCAA history. The next longest NCAA championship streak of any comprehensive university at any time in history has never gone beyond the teens, and the second longest active streak at any school is 6 years. This despite Stanford’s having a small fraction of the undergraduate enrollment of universities with whom they compete. During these recent decades no other school has won more than a small fraction of the number of Stanford’s NCAA team championships.
24. The Sports Directors’ Cup, awarded to “the most successful overall college sports program in the nation” each year (based on NCAA titles, national standing in each sport), had been won by Stanford 26 of 32 years, including a recent continuous streak of ___ straight years.
25. The Capital One Cup gives extra weight to the high-profile sports (weighted by sport popularity). Stanford has not only won the Capital One Cup, but both the men’s and women’s trophies – at times in the same year! No other school comes close to the number of Capital One Cups won by Stanford, currently ___.
26. Just since 2000, The Mighty Cardinal has captured a jaw-dropping ___ NCAA team championships, not to mention over a dozen more national team championships.
27. Stanford student-athletes have earned a nation-leading _____ (how many?) NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, awarded to students who demonstrate outstanding performance in athletics, academics and community service.
28. Stanford shattered the record for most NCAA team titles of any university in a single year, only to thereafter match it. ____ (How many in a single year?)
29. What do Tiger Woods, Andrew Luck, John McEnroe, Katie Ledecky, John Elway, Christian McCaffery, Jim Plunkett, Tom Watson, Kerri Walsh, Eric Heiden and Janet Evans have in common? What other athletic superstars can you add to this list? ________________
30. a. Stanford men’s basketball has a ____% NCAA Graduation Success Rate over the latest four-year span study, compared with 60% for Duke men’s basketball, according to the NCAA’s latest GSR data and Duke’s own report.
b. Stanford basketball recruits have notably higher GPAs, and SAT scores of have historically averaged how many points higher than Duke’s? ____
31. When was the last Ivy League game – in any sport – televised by a major network?
32. Since 1986, fans of Ivy League schools have witnessed all their football teams lose all their games to FBS opponents, until one 2014 game (Even then, it took overtime vs. a team Stanford had beaten that same year 35-0.) True or false?
33. Which university has the most notorious “marching” band? _________________
34. Recount two incidents from the band’s checkered past exemplifying how and why LSJUMB has gained this dubious distinction.
35. Featuring the most unusual of mascots, what is this school’s battle cry?
_______ _____ _______!
D. OLYMPICS
To gain perspective on the enormity of Stanford’s Olympics gold medal production:
36. Stanford won more gold in Rio (2016) than most of the 5 major continents represented in the five-ring Olympics banner (and this is not the first Olympics in which this feat has been achieved by this university). True or false?
37. If Nerd Nation were literally a nation, Stanford would rank ___ in the Rio gold medal count among all countries.
40th
25th
17th
6th
38. This is nothing new for the Cardinal, which, if a country, would have finished in the gold count ___th in the 1992 Olympics, and ___th in the 1996 Olympics.
39. Stanford won more Rio gold than which of the following countries?
Japan
France
South Korea
Australia
Italy
40. In fact, the only countries that won more gold than Stanford in the Rio Olympics were: ____________________________________
41. True or False: Stanford’s Olympians won more gold medals in Rio than Argentina, Sweden, Serbia, Norway, Bulgaria, Portugal, Poland, India, Finland, Ireland, Ethiopia, and the Czech Republic … combined.
42. Not all that glitters is gold. The world’s top school in total Rio medals (including silver and bronze) is also Stanford with: ______ (how many?)
43. Across a spectrum of 17 sports, Stanford led all universities with ___ athletes making the Olympics in Rio, and hauling home the most American medals.
44. With four gold medals and a silver in Rio, this Olympics superstar turned Cardinal won 5 individual NCAA titles and the Honda Cup as the year’s top collegiate female athlete in her freshman year: _________________________
45. How many medals did Stanford athletes win in the Tokyo Olympics (2021) ____,
and did they once again win more medals than any other university in the world? ____
46. a. Did Stanford ‘three-peat” by yet again winning the most medals of any university in the 2024 Paris Olympics? ____
b. In fact, in Paris, Stanford shattered the record of most medals ever won by a university, winning ______ (how many?).
c. By traditional Olympic medal-table ranking, if Stanford were a country, in what place would it have finished in Paris? ____, ahead of the likes of Germany, Italy and Canada.
47. Stanford athletes have won a total of ___ Summer Olympic medals, nearly half of which are what color? _____
48. True or False: Stanford’s contributions to the Winter Olympics span from Dr. Eric Heiden’s 1980 gold medal sweep, winning all five individual men’s speed-skating events, to 2026, when Stanford had not one but two medalists in the same event (including Eileen Gu’s gold).
E. QUALITY OF LIFE / CAMPUS EXPERIENCE
49. Among all comprehensive universities, which has the largest campus (contiguous land acreage) not only in America, but in the world,
with more acres ____ (how many?) than undergrads,
affectionately called “The _____”)?
50. True or False: This acreage would cover most of Manhattan, from its southern tip below Freedom Tower all the way through Midtown and most of Central Park, the Upper East and the Upper West Side.
51. ___% of Stanford’s campus has yet to be developed, giving Stanford an extraordinary advantage over all other schools in growth and development throughout the future. (Leland and Jane Stanford’s Founding Grant prohibited the University from ever selling The Farm, preserving the land as a permanent endowment.)
52. As such, the campus (which has its own Stanford Shopping Center) is literally and figuratively priceless. Yet a peek into its possible fair market value comes from our Stanford Research Park, which comprises 700 acres—only 8.5% of Stanford’s campus, and has a market value exceeding $___ billion.
53. The Conception of Stanford: As most famously told by the late, great Malcolm Forbes: until the death of their son, Leland Stanford Junior, Leland and Jane Stanford had expected their son to attend Harvard. They later made a transcontinental trip by railroad — the vast Western segment of which Leland Stanford had built — to meet with the president of Harvard about dedicating a building to the university in memory of their only child.
Arriving in unassuming apparel (e.g., “faded gingham dress”) after their long journey, the Stanfords were left waiting in the president’s lobby for hours. When they finally obtained an audience and explained their purpose, the skeptical president gave the Stanfords a lesson in how much it would cost to build even a statue, much less an entire building, at Harvard. Upon hearing the figure, Jane Stanford turned to her husband and asked: how much would it cost to just build a university? The Stanfords then got up and left the president – stunned, returning to their California farm to commence developing what would become Leland Stanford Junior University.
True or False? While parts of the above story remain disputed, there prevail undeniable truths:
in his own 1919 memoirs, Harvard President Charles Eliot admits at least to having been visited by the Stanfords ___,
Malcolm Forbes’ account is repeatedly referenced by numerous publications ___, and
the story holds an enduring, endearing place as Chapter One in Stanford lore ___.
54. In addition to the wacky mascot, how many trees (including some that predate the University) are on this gorgeous campus ___, representing how many species ___?
55. Stanford campus includes the largest and most valuable Rodin art collection outside of Paris, comprising ___ (how many?) Rodin works of art, including an outdoor Rodin Sculpture Garden with The Gates of Hell, The Thinker and The Bergers of Calais.
56. Which golf course has been repeatedly ranked in the top 100 in the country – and even in the world, and is home to 9 NCAA men’s championships, as well as 3 of the last 5 NCAA women’s championships, and where you can pet horses during your round?
57. True or False: Though an eight-time major champion, golf superstar Tom Watson is not the best golfer from Stanford – not even the best with his initials. ____
58. Characteristically ahead of its time, Stanford created its pioneering, world-renowned:
a. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL), which has developed artificial intelligence, computer vision, robotics, autonomous vehicles, speech recognition, natural-language processing, computer music, and interactive computing, in what year? ____
b. Linear Accelerator (SLAC) in what year? ____
which is how long?
1. 1,000 yards
2. 1/4 mile
3. two miles
59. In 2008, Stanford became the first U.S. university to guarantee free tuition to families earning as much as $100,000 a year (with typical assets), while families earning under $60,000 paid no tuition, room or board.
60. What percentage of recent Stanford students graduate with zero debt? ____%
61. Widely attributed to Mark Twain: ‘College is a fountain of knowledge where students gather to drink.’ True or False: Stanford officially recognizes hopping into any of its ____ (how many?) fountains as a ‘longstanding and authorized Stanford tradition;’ as is the fountains’ miraculously turning Cardinal red during Big Game Week.
School Traditions:
62. a. Have you yet done Full Moon on the Quad? ____
b. “Give ’em the Axe” was a Stanford rallying cry against its opponents—especially Cal—as early as the 1890s, inspiring the creation of the Stanford Axe. Cal students subsequently stole the Axe and kept it for more than 30 years, until Stanford’s legendary “Immortal 21” recovered it in 1930, through an elaborate scheme that culminated in a wild getaway— True or False: including the raising of the Dumbarton Bridge by a Stanford graduate student to thwart pursuing Cal students. ___ Years later, the universities agreed that the Stanford Axe would pass between them as the trophy awarded annually to the winner of Big Game.
63. Among the traditions of Big Game Week:
a. Gaieties, the musical comedy now in its ____th edition of original student creation;
b. Berkeley’s giant hillside “C” at times miraculously turned Cardinal red—and, on one occasion, converted into a giant “S”). True or false: ____
64. Among the legendary parties on campus has been the SAE Paddy Murphy Party, with its nascent 1981 caper including which of the following:
a. a Stanford Daily announcement of the legendary Irish mob boss Paddy Murphy’s impending arrival on campus;
b. his appearance in White Plaza, triggering gunfire, dropping a bloody Paddy, rushed off in an ambulance;
c. announcement of his death;
d. a New Orleans-style funeral march and sermon,
e. a hearse with a dozen full limousines parading through campus,
f. a dinner at an Irish pub,
g. a séance at an old farmhouse on the edge of campus, broken up by actual cops;
h. a somber wake before a coffin, from which popped up lead guitarist, launching dance party;
i. all brothers in pinstripe gangster suits, and dames in flappers and boas.
65. True or False?: The New York Times has proclaimed: “__________ University has become America’s “it” school, by measures that Harvard once dominated. ___________ has had the nation’s lowest undergraduate acceptance rate …, it has topped the Princeton Review survey asking high school seniors to name their “dream college”; and year in and year out, it raises more money from donors than any other university.”
66. In a related story, Stanford students also recognize that the weather back East _____.
67. So … what’s the universally best university in the universe? ________________
TOP UNIVERSITY
Fun Facts Quiz
Answers and Confirming Sources
3.6%; Stanford
https://www.collegedata.fyi/schools/stanford/2025-26
https://collegestatistics.org/stanford
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/03/31/stanford-acceptance-rate-lowest-universitys-history/ http://news.stanford.edu/2017/03/31/offers-admission-2050-students-around-world/ http://www.stanforddaily.com/2016/03/25/stanfords-admission-rate-drops-to-4-69/
https://blog.ivywise.com/blog-0/class-of-2021-admission-rates ; http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/4/16/admissions-downward-trend-experts/
https://yocket.com/universities/stanford-university-763#About
“Harvard v. Stanford: America Has a New Dream College” http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/04/harvard_vs_stanford_america_has_a_new_dream_college.html
2. 69% https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/02/perfect-act-sat-scores-dont-mean-admission-to-top- universities/
Best you bring more than brilliance.
Then again, Stanford rejects over 96% of all applicants, so perfect scores clearly help.
Stanford. 84%
https://collegestatistics.org/stanford
https://irds.stanford.edu/data-findings/cds
(Acceptance rates have reached such exclusive levels that Stanford plans to no longer publish them, lest they deter qualified candidates.)
https://blog.ivywise.com/blog-0/class-of-2020-yield-rates http://admission.stanford.edu/basics/selection/profile.html
Stanford
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/top-10-universities-producing-nobel-prizewinners
20 Nobel laureates among current faculty. http://facts.stanford.edu/academics/faculty
5 to 1 student/professor ratio (compared to a 7/1 ratio at Harvard) http://facts.stanford.edu/academics/undergraduate http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best- colleges/harvard-university-2155; https://collegesofdistinction.com/advice/35-best-student-faculty-college-ratios-for-2022/
6. Stanford
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/subject-ranking/computer-science#!/page/1/length/25/locations/US/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-united-states
That this was Wall Street Journal’s first finding is particularly significant, before the pattern of rotating in other top schools would take hold, since a static top ranking would hurt the viewership of annual reports.
7. a. Stanford. 6: #1 in Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Computer Science, Education, Engineering & Technology, and Psychology.
b. True. https://admissionsight.com/best-ivy-league-for-engineering/
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-news-unveils-2026-best-graduate-schools-302735056.html
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-computer
8. a. True;
b. 20 others (28 scheduled speakers total, including the two instructors).
CS 153 | Frontier Systems, Stanford University, Spring 2026 course lineup.
9. “Nerd Nation” https://www.google.com/search?q=nerd+nation+photos
10. a. 17. Graduate School of Business (MBA) • Law School • Graduate School of Education • School of Engineering • Computer Science • Electrical Engineering • Mechanical Engineering • Civil Engineering • Environmental Engineering • Materials Engineering • Chemical Engineering • Biomedical Engineering / Bioengineering • Psychology • Economics • Statistics • Biological Sciences • Intellectual Property
U.S. News & World Report;
;
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings
8 of 11.
11. Only 167 – 180 students; 1/3 https://law.stanford.edu/office-of-admissions/ 7/1 student/faculty ratio
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate- schools
http://law-schools.startclass.com/l/73/Harvard-University
http://law-schools.startclass.com/l/21/Stanford-University
12. Stanford Law School is ranked #1 in the country and in the world. Lex Lux https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/yale-loses-longtime-no-1-spot-latest-us-law-school-ranking-2026-04-07/
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2023/subject-ranking/law
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings
13. #1. https://www.ft.com/content/c97126be-fd26-11e7-9b32-d7d59aace167
4 times. 4 of every 5 dual business admittees choose Stanford over Harvard. 66.2% chose Stanford, while only 16.2% chose Harvard. (Remaining % going elsewhere.)
https://poetsandquants.com/2015/12/03/stanford-winning-dual-admit-battle-with-hbs/
Formerly “only” 2 ½ times; “Why Stanford is Beating HBS Among Dual Admits” http://poetsandquants.com/2015/01/28/revealed-where-mba-dual-admits-go/ “Cool school beats old school;” so this is a widening gap.
There’s no BS like SBS! (Ask Phil Knight.)
14. All True. 1.4% admitted: http://medical-schools.startclass.com/compare/12-24/Stanford-University-School-of-Medicine-vs-Harvard-Medical-School
Over 5 to 1 inverted ratio of faculty per student
https://facts.stanford.edu/academics/undergraduate-education
though another source indicates Harvard has “only” three times more medical students per professor than Stanford. http://medical-schools.startclass.com/compare/12-24/Stanford-University-School-of-Medicine-vs-Harvard-Medical-School
Hospital specialty ranking:
15. 10th largest economy
d. $2.7 trillion in revenue (then; higher now) http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/october/innovation-economic-impact-102412.html
16. 5.4 million jobs Stanford’s 2012 study;
17. $11 trillion in market cap https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/08/chuck-eesley-insights- entrepreneurship-success-education-government-investment?
18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University Please add to list: ________________.
19. Stanford https://engineering.stanford.edu/news/fearless-stanford-engineering-venture- fund-twenty-five; https://academic.oup.com/mit-press-scholarship-online/book/44577?login=false
20. True
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/02/24/stanford-with-another-400- million-donation-is-out-fundraising-all-other-schools/?utm_term=.45053ead081c
21. 576 individual NCAA titles (668 individual titles overall) as of 8/2026 https://gostanford.com/news/2026/07/23/2025-26-year-in-review-ncaa-title-streak-reaches-50-years https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions.aspx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Cardinal http://www.gostanford.com/news/2016/9/13/individual-national-champions.aspx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_schools_with_the_most_NCAA_Division_I_championships
22. 139 NCAA team titles as of 7/26 (slightly more men than women crowns) https://gostanford.com/news/2026/07/23/2025-26-year-in-review-ncaa-title-streak-reaches-50-years https://www.google.com/search?q=stanford+ncaa+titles&rlz=1C1CHZN_enUS1012US1012&oq=stanford+ncaa+titl&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j69i57j0i390l4.8250j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8%3Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FStanford_Cardinal https://www.stanforddaily.com/2019/04/22/mens-gymnastics-wins-its-sixth-ncaa-title-ending-sooners-four-title-streak-in-upset/ https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions.aspx http://gostanford.com/news/2017/11/13/athletics-no-115.aspx http://www.gostanford.com/sports/2014/4/28/209483540.aspx (< 8,000 students v. > 40,000 at the likes of Arizona State)
23. 50 years https://gostanford.com/news/2026/07/23/2025-26-year-in-review-ncaa-title-streak-reaches-50-years https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions.aspx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Cardinal http://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/05/16/stanfords-113th-title-by-the-numbers/
24. 25-year streak. https://gostanford.com/news/2026/07/23/2025-26-year-in-review-ncaa-title-streak-reaches-50-years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Cardinal https://www.sfchronicle.com/collegesports/article/Stanford-wraps-up-25th-straight-Directors-Cup-13034695.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NACDA_Directors%27_Cup
25. The Mighty Cardinal surpasses all competition with 10 Capital One Cups. The Capital One Cup is a multi-sport award given to a school to acknowledge athletic success across all sports. Several sports programs from higher-education institutions across the United States are pitted against each other, acquiring points throughout the school year based on how individual sports teams finish in national championships. Sports are divided into two groups based on popularity and pool of competition.
https://gostanford.com/news/2021/07/09/capital-one-cup-sweep
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Stanford_Cardinal_bowl_games
https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions.aspx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Cardinal
26. 64 NCAA crowns as of 7/2026; and over a dozen more national titles
https://gostanford.com/news/2026/07/23/2025-26-year-in-review-ncaa-title-streak-reaches-50-years
https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions
https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions.aspx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Cardinal
27. 189 as of 7/26
https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions.aspx http://www.gostanford.com/sports/2014/4/28/209483540.aspx https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions.aspx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Cardinal
28. 6 NCAA team titles in a single year (twice)
29. All attended Stanford University.
30. a. 100%. (Whereas 40% of Duke players don’t graduate.) https://goduke.com/news/2025/11/19/athletics-18-duke-programs-record-perfect-graduation-success-rates https://gostanford.com/news/2025/11/19/sustained-academic-success-among-gsr
b. 155 points higher than Duke players – plus a .33 higher high school GPA;
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/academic-fit-vs-other factors/1050701/141?page=8;
San Jose Mercury News (Jon Wilner), citing NCAA data, Nov. 5, 2008; https://stanfordmag.org/contents/leland-on-the-sears-cup-students-and-statistics
31. Trick question. If there were ever an Ivy League game of any public relevance,
it predated the dawn of television.
32. True. Yale’s overtime win v. Army (after Stanford had just trounced Army 35-0 in the same season: Sept. 13, 2014). http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/yale-beats-army-in-ot-for-first-win-vs-fbs-team /
33. Stanford: “The One, the Only, the Truly Incomparable, Leland Stanford Junior … University Marching Band” (aka LSJUMB)
34. 1) Storming the field, culminating in the infamous French trombone collision at the end of the 1982 Big Game, during what many consider to be the greatest and most dramatic play in sports history, universally dubbed as simply “The Play.” youtube.com/watch?v=6nC55Kv2sKM
2) “In 2004, the Band drew national attention and Mormon ire for joking about polygamy during a game against Brigham Young University. The Dollies appeared in wedding veils with the band manager kneeling and “proposing” to each in turn as the announcer referred to marriage as “the sacred bond that exists between a man and a woman… and a woman… and a woman… and a woman… and a woman.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Band./ Subsequent to this televised “Tribute to Polygamy” the “band” was “banned” again by national networks.
35. Fear the Tree!
36. True. http://www.mapsofworld.com/sports/olympics/trivia/olympic-games-results/medals-by-country.html
Brazil won 7 golds, Argentina 3 = 10 total for South America
Australia won 8, New Zealand 4 and Fiji 1 = 13 total for Oceania
Kenya won 6, South Africa 2, Ethiopia 1 and Cote d’Ivoire 1 = 10 for Africa
Stanford won more gold (14 medals) than each of these three continents.
See also 1996 Olympics. https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=54820
37. d. 6th http://www.mapsofworld.com/sports/olympics/trivia/olympic-games-results/medals-by-country.html
38. 9th in ’92; and 4th in ’96, with 17 golds, behind only USA, Russia and Germany.
https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=54820
39. All of them
http://www.mapsofworld.com/sports/olympics/trivia/olympic-games-results/medals-by-country.html
40. USA, China, Great Britain, Russia and Germany. http://www.mapsofworld.com/sports/olympics/trivia/olympic-games-results/medals-by-country.html
41. True http://www.mapsofworld.com/sports/olympics/trivia/olympic-games-results/medals-by-country.html
42. 27 medals http://www.gostanford.com/news/2016/7/7/athletics-bound-for-rio.aspx
43. 39 (including 10 who competed for other countries)
http://www.gostanford.com/news/2016/7/7/athletics-bound-for-rio.aspx
http://fortune.com/2016/08/09/stanford-olympics-athletes-college/
44. “Who is Katie Ledecky, Alex”
https://gostanford.com/news/2017/06/26/ledecky-wins-honda-cup
45. 27 medals (plurality gold). Yes. https://gostanford.com/news/2023/5/25/olympic-medal-history?ampDeviceId=f443bbdd-619a-4038-8f77-6ed7787d3df0&SessionId=undefined&lang=null&onlycontent=1
46. a. Yes. https://gostanford.com/news/2024/08/11/record-setting-2024-paris-games
b. 39. https://gostanford.com/news/2024/08/11/record-setting-2024-paris-games
c. 9th among countries, beating out Germany and Italy with 12 gold & 14 silver https://gostanford.com/news/2024/08/11/record-setting-2024-paris-games
47. 335 medals. Gold. https://gostanford.com/news/2024/08/11/record-setting-2024-paris-games https://gostanford.com/sports/2017/5/22/home-of-champions.aspx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Cardinal
48. True. https://www.si.com/college/stanford/olympic-sports/final-medal-count-for-stanford-athletes-at-2026-winter-olympics https://usopm.org/ericheiden/
49. Stanford, with 8,180 acres, according to most cites;
https://oga.stanford.edu/stanford-lands (others state 8,153 or 8,183 acres)
The Farm (Lomonosov Moscow State University has the most floor space, though built vertically on much less land. https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-largest-college-campuses-in-the-world https://stanforddaily.com/2010/07/22/learning-the-campus-sign-language/
50. True. Campus acreage would cover 58% of Manhattan’s 14,502 acres.
51. 60%. https://sustainable.stanford.edu/operations/land-buildings/
52. Over $12 billion. Source: Stanford University, Urban Studies, Tiffany Griego, Real Estate Asset Managing Director: https://urbanstudies.stanford.edu/people/tiffany-griego-real-estate-asset-managing-director
53. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/6/6/the-new-kid-on-the-block/
a. True. https://dokumen.pub/american-disruptor-the-scandalous-life-of-leland-stanford-9780520973565.html https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/10/30/stanford-vs-harvard/
b. True. https://www.ochealthinfo.com/sites/healthcare/files/2024-01/01-17-2024%20OC%20OA%20BHAC%20Agenda.pdf https://hoopthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/05/story-of-stanford-university.html
c. True. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/6/6/the-new-kid-on-the-block/ https://web.stanford.edu/dept/pres-provost/president/speeches/980918convocate98.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-09-tr-letters9.s1-story.html
54. More than 43,000 trees at Stanford – ever diverse: representing over 400 species https://trees.stanford.edu/
55. 200 https://stanfordmag.org/contents/89-rodins-find-a-new-home https://arts.stanford.edu/cantor-arts-centers-french-summer/ https://trees.stanford.edu/ENCYC/YUCfi.htm
56. Stanford Golf Course. https://www.golfdigest.com/courses/ca/stanford-golf-course-stanford-university
57. True, and if you need the other guy’s name, you’ve just flunked this Q &A.
58. a. 1963 https://www.stanford.edu/about/history
b. 1962 https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/about/our-story/history
Two entire miles long
59. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Stanford-drops-tuition-for-some-students-3227473.php https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2008/05/text-president-john-hennessys-address-academic-council $150,000; $100,000 https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2023/02/undergraduate-families-100000-income-pay-no-tuition-room-board-stanford-beginning-2023-24 https://admission.stanford.edu/afford/#:~:text=Almost%20half%20of%20all%20Stanford,tuition%20or%20room%20a nd%20board. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-education-stanford-tuition-idUSN2041220220080221
60. Nearly 90% https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQfCDKwmCfgQPFbmFlLhMqqvCQd
https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2026/02/undergraduate-tuition-rates-2026-027
61. 25 fountains. https://facts.stanford.edu/about/stanford-campus
62. a. Do so (again).
b. True. https://gostanford.com/news/2019/09/17/stanford-125-the-1930s https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-last-of-the-21 https://stanforddaily.com/2013/11/22/giving-and-taking-the-axe-a-look-back-at-the-eight-successful-axe-heists/
63. a. Gaieties is proudly entering its 115th original student production https://ramshead.stanford.edu/shows
b. True. https://stanfordmag.org/contents/berkeley-bombs https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1949/9/26/stanford-cultivates-school-spirit-and/ https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/fans-plot-pranks-for-the-memories-3089025.php
64. All of these events were part of “Paddy Murphy” in ’81. Confirming source: 1981 Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity Social Co-Chairman (Top University Fun Facts author, yours truly)
65. Stanford https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/education/americas-it-school-look-west-harvard.html https://www.americamagazine.org/ignatian-educator/2014/05/31/stanford-over-harvard/
Stanford http://americamagazine.org/content/ignatian-educator/stanford-over-harvard The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/education/americas-it-school-look-west-harvard.html
“Dream college” of applicants and parents annually since 2013 (polls by Princeton Review). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/10/30/stanford-vs-harvard/
By contrast: “Student satisfaction at Harvard College ranks near the bottom of a group of 31 elite private colleges, according to an analysis of survey results that finds that Harvard students are disenchanted with the faculty and social life on campus.” http://archive.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/03/29/student_life_at_harvard_lags_peer_schools_poll_finds/
66. blows
… distinct from The Farm’s wind of freedom: “Die Luft der Freiheit Weht.”
67. Hail, Stanford, Hail! (Word to your alma mater.)
Extra Credit: Commit to memory your own Top Ten List of Top University Fun Facts
Please choose your favorite title for this annually updated article:
More Powerful than a Locomotive: Stanford’s Assent to #1
Becoming the Best, and Other Cardinal Sins
“The One, the Only, the Truly Incomparable: Leland Stanford Junior … University”
From The Farm to The Table
Universally Best University in the Universe
The Greatest Story Never Told
THE Complete College
Stanford’s Blown by Harvard: Those Disappearing Tail Lights are Cardinal Red
Top University in Academics, Athletics and Economic Success
Stanford over Ivy League and Techs: For Full Collegiate Experience, Only One
The Stanford Experience: Excel and Enjoy
Stanford: Mens Sana in Corpore Sano
Stanford Stands Alone
Best Across the Board
America’s “It” University
One of the Finest Schools on the Southwestern Edge of Palo Alto
_______________________________________________________
Please add any other Stanford fun facts by reaching us at: Stanford.JD@McGowanLaw.net or 760-567-8406. Look to www.TopUniversity.us for ongoing updates of this piece. – Mark McGowan (BA ’81, JD ’84)