For the second consecutive year Oklahoma will boast the most former players on the field for football's biggest game when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on CBS Sunday. The Chiefs will be looking to defend their title with four former Sooners on their roster. The 49ers will add two more two ex-OU players to the mix with in offensive tackle Trent Williams and tight end Brayden Willis.
Second on the list is Georgia, which is represented with five Bulldog alums. As far as conferences go, the SEC leads the way in former players in the game with 23 players. That tally is up from 21 last season and comes even though Alabama won't have an alum on the field.
The breakdown of where the Super Bowl participants finished their college careers illustrates that not all paths to professional football run through the big-name programs. Between the two active rosters, there are nine players who played at the FCS level or below in college but managed to find their way to the biggest stage in American sports.
Where did each of this year's Super Bowl players attend college? We break down every active player below based on school and conference.
Super Bowl players by college
Where players on the official active rosters of the Chiefs and 49ers as of Monday played in college.
| School | Players |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 6 |
| Georgia | 5 |
| Michigan | 4 |
| Florida | 4 |
| Middle Tennessee | 3 |
| Penn State | 3 |
| Rutgers | 3 |
| TCU | 3 |
Two players each: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, Ohio State, Purdue, Kansas State, Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon, Stanford, Western Michigan, Notre Dame
One player each: Virginia Tech, Duke, NC State, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Texas, West Virginia, Iowa State, BYU, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Washington, Washington State, Arizona State, UCLA, USC, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, SMU, South Florida, UTSA, South Alabama, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Ball State, Toledo, Army, South Dakota, Stephen F. Austin, Penn, Missouri S&T, Fayetteville State, St. John's (Minn.), South Carolina State, Harvard, Central Arkansas
Super Bowl players by conference
The conferences represented by players based on the official Chiefs and 49ers active rosters as of Tuesday.
| Conference | Players |
|---|---|
| SEC | 23 |
| Big Ten | 19 |
| Big 12 | 17 |
| Pac-12 | 12 |
| ACC | 9 |
| FCS or lower | 9 |
| Conference USA | 4 |
| MAC | 4 |
| Independent | 3 |
| AAC | 3 |
| Sun Belt | 2 |
| Mountain West | 1 |
